Rodeo Stoner
by Steph Malfoy
Summary: AU Sure, maybe they did have the tendency to be hot and all and those Stetsons were damn sexy but cowboys so weren’t my type. Me and a cowboy? HA! Like that would ever happen... AmyTy... eventually D
1. Preface

**-- Authors Note -- **

Hey, guys! Before you say anything I know I should be working on TP, BP, WP and all of my other unfinished stories BUT I just had to write this down before I completely forgot about it. This is a new story (obviously) that I thought of while I was out west this summer. As per my usual, it is AU and OOC, what can I say? The title will make sense, it was originally "Rodeo Cowboy" but I changed it. A summary and all will be provided in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it! I just thought of the perfect way to start this story, at least I think so. It will be fairly obvious to tell whose POV it is in… well after a bit anyways and don't worry, Amy and co will appear later. That kind of gave it away, didn't it? huh. I'm rotten at keeping secrets anyways, not really. ANYWAYS, past my babbling now, here is the preface type thing of my newest story, "Rodeo Stoner"! I suppose you could say that Ty's a bad boy in it… different from TP Ty. So… have fun Ty lovers!

-Steph

**Rodeo Stoner**

**Preface**

_Setting—Four years ago, Philadelphia pent house_

"Yo, man, pass me some more of that."

I blinked lazily as I watched the small, clear plastic baggie circulate around the room. Jed reached out a hand and took it from Cooper. Jed took a pinch of whatever was in the bag—I couldn't even remember what it was exactly at that point—before passing it off to Mitch and so on.

I observed calmly as the pattern repeated over and over, too many times to count, until it had circulated the spacey room many times over. It didn't alarm me, not in the slightest. Everything was normal, exactly the way in had been for one plus years. I sat sprawled on an expensive leather couch with my feet propped on an equally expensive table in my parent's library. Jed, Cooper, Alex, Mitch, Brian, Sebastian, Brendan and Vince were spread around the room. My father was off doing whatever the hell it was that he did and my mom was off spending money with her "high society friends". My brother, Lee, was playing baseball. He's so stupid, Lee is. He's so dependent on a stupid, fucking sport. But, you see, I'm not so stupid, I'm the smarter of us. I have something more dependent.

The sleeves of my black tee crumpled up and the cool leather of the couch rubbed against the pale skin of my upper arms as I pushed myself into a sitting position. I leant back against the cushions and crossed my legs at the ankles, I hoped that maybe a bit of dirt—or dog shit, I didn't step in it on occasion because I like the smell—would land on the table. If mom or dad saw that they'd likely fire the maid. I laughed lightly just thinking about it.

"What's up, Win?"

Still high on the day's drug of choice and my thoughts of fuming parents, I shook my head to the side to clear the brown hair from my eyes so that I could see who had addressed me. It was Sebastian. My response was a shake of my head. Seb turned back to the blunt he fiddled with in his twitching fingers without another word.

I accepted the bag from Mitch. I looked at it for a second, just as I always did.

"Fuck society," I muttered.

Not many seconds later I felt free. Everyday that passed caused for the growing need of more and more to make myself feel this way but I still managed it. I didn't care about my bastard of a father or my mother that was screwed up from botox, face lifts and plastic surgeries or the fucking, prep, baseball playing sorry excuse I had for a brother. Fuck them all. All they lived for was money. The money my father raked in for sitting around all day in an office yelling at people, firing people and making people do his work for him.

Fuck my "family".

Fuck my father.

Fuck my mother.

Fuck my brother.

Fuck my father's damned business.

Fuck the cursed money.

Fuck the damned house.

Fuck the damned library.

Fuck society.

Fuck everything.

Fuck the stupid visions my mother still foolishly obtains of me in the future. Can she not yet see that I will never be like Lee? Or my father?

Fuck them all.

"Amen to that, brother." It was Cooper who spoke this time. He raised the crystal glass that held a healthy portion of some of the expensive and ageless vodka that my father stored in the winery in my direction.

My father was a fool. Did he not think that I couldn't pick locks? Everyone thought me to be stupid. But boy were they wrong. They couldn't be more wrong even if they put their puny, little brains to the task.

I rose the glass I held in my hands in a likewise motion before taking a sip. The cool liquid was strong and left a burning trail as it slid down my throat. But it left a warm trail all the way down.

We were all the sons of rich families. We all hated it. We were all "stoners" but who the hell cares?

See, I told you I wasn't stupid like that little snot, Lee. I don't depend on something stupid to make me feel good. Baseball… what the hell is the point? Who cares who can hit the ball the farthest or make the best catch with the aid of a larger hand or run around a diamond the fastest? It's pointless and unreliable. What I have, however, is always there and has no plans of going anywhere in the near future. It will always be there to make me feel good. Even if it's not as good as it was years earlier it still achieved the desired affect every time.

I downed the rest of the glass in one gulp.

The last swallow went down in a happy trail in honor of my dimwitted parents. Everyday we did this, every fucking day, right in their own house, right in their beloved library. Every fucked up day. Rarely did we miss a day. And they had no idea. Stupid assholes.

In the great scheme of my life and the highs I've had, I should have rightfully heard it. It was mere stupidity that ruined it. All I knew was that one moment I was staring blankly out of the large window on the far side of the room and the next there was a pounding coming up the stairs and down the hallway, right towards the library. The noise barely even registered in my head and even on the off chance that it had fully registered and been processed I would never have reacted in time.

The door to the library swung open and in the reflection in the window glass I saw Lee standing there, wearing that stupid baseball uniform. All of my friends turned slowly to face the door, each one, perhaps, comprehending the situation at hand many times faster then I did.

"Ty, mom and dad wan…" Lee never finished what he had been trying to say. He trailed off as he looked around the room, taking it all in very slowly. He looked momentarily shocked at first but then a large smirk spread across his foggy face in the mirror. "Oh you are so busted this time, Ty," he said gleefully.

My friends all deserted the room then, each one of them taking with them whatever they held in their hands.

I was left alone in the big library with my brother. I had yet to turn and face him or even shift my position on the couch.

"MOM! DAD!" Lee yelled down the hallway at the top of his lungs. I watched as the distorted reflection of Lee turned its head back to look at me, an expression that I could only make as incredulousness spread across his face as he watched what he could see of the back of my head. He expected me to jump to my own defense, to have some reaction to what was happening… I just sat there.

I heard mom's heels clicking on the wooden floor accompanied by the heavier thud of dad's work loafers. They were getting closer… and closer.

_Click Click Click Click… Thud Thud Thud Thud… Click Click Thud Thud… Click Thud Click Thud_

Still I did not move an inch. I should have made some effort to save my ass but I didn't. I didn't even care that the inevitable parent and son war was about to take place right in that pish and posh library. My face remained blank and impassive, besides for the almost permanent smirk on my lips and a glint of something in my eyes I was emotionless.

I awaited my parents' entrance with greed.

It was not as though they could banish me from the house and disown me from the family. No, that would make my mother look bad among her "friends". Her and my father would be the prime candidates in the cities gossip… and not in the good adoring way that they liked. I could just see it now… the though made me giddy. What I would not give for my parents to be seen how they really were.

"Lee?" My mother's voice floated down the hallway as she neared the library. Her voice was laced with worry or Lee… the younger son, the perfect son. "Is something wrong? Are you okay?" She was nearer.

"I'm fine," Lee said back in a normal voice, they were almost there. His reflection peeked back at me. I twiddled my fingers against the cool crystal of the empty glass I held. My short nails clicked against the hard surface. I hoped it scratched… not likely. "But I don't think Ty is."

"What?" There was a little alarm in her voice. "Is he hurt? What happened?" The clicking got faster and thuds followed melodically.

"He's not… hurt," Lee said. I loved how they talked about me as though I was not there. "But after you see what he's done this time he might not be so fine." The reflection of Lee that I was watching flashed me a smile and I wondered if he did not know that I was watching him.

"What do you mean?" Perhaps my idiotic mother missed the stampede that clearly passed her. Stupid bitch. Just a few more steps and she'd be here. "Is he… oh dear." Ah, finally here. A hand flew to cover the reflection of her face.

Still I did not move.

"What is all this about?" My father's deep, obnoxious voice resounded through the room. Never could talk with that indoor voice, fucking bastard. He stopped in the doorway next to my mother and silently surveyed the room.

Still I did not move.

I made no move to defend myself or confront my parents. I just sat there on that damned leather couch that cost enough to feed a small country with my feet on the table that could give said country dessert. I tossed the crystal glass lightly between my hands. I waited for them.

Lee was besides himself with giddiness, bouncing on his toes, hands clasped behind his back, his mouth in a tight, thin line, obviously trying to hide his enjoyment. Fucking little bastard. Perfect fucking replica of my father he is,

I think my father understood what had happened before my mother. He walked farther into the room and walked around the couch. I looked outside the window that was so far away and ignored him.

"Would you care to explain yourself, Tyler?" His voice was filled with suppressed furry.

"Not particularly." I could match my father's furry and would if the need called for it. But right then I couldn't have been bothered. My head was still light from everything I had consumed that afternoon. I wouldn't quite classify myself as high; it was more of a happy in-between. It was an almost crucial factor for every time I dealt with my parents.

I heard my father walk to the side of the room. His damned shoes thumped more muffled on the heavily carpeted floor in the library. He stopped after about seven steps. The suit jacket he wore rustled and I assumed he picked something up. I kept my eyes on the window. I could not see my father; he was just out of my view. I could, however, see my mother who was just standing there, presumably staring at my father and gaping like a fish. Lee I could see as clear as day, that sick grin twisted across his face.

When my father spoke again his voice was tight and strained. "Can you, Tyler, explain what this is?" I didn't look at him. "God damn it, boy!" He roared, finally snapping. "Look at me when I am speaking to you!"

I turned my head very slowly so that I faced him. His face was visibly turning a slight shade of maroon; it started on his neck and went to the tip of his forehead. He was holding something up, just as I had thought. I let my eyes travel excruciatingly slow to his outstretched hand. Ah, there it was. He was gripping the vodka bottle by the neck.

"It looks to me like a bottle of an alcoholic beverage," I replied slowly. My voice maintained exactly the volume and feel that I had worked so hard to perfect.

"What alcoholic beverage? There is no alcoholic beverage in this bottle anymore!" He shook the bottle around for affect and all his efforts received was a slight sloshing of the smallest bit of liquid that had been left in the bottle. "You went into my stocks and you stole it! Do you have any idea the agelessness or priceless-ness of this drink?" He was livid, I was giddy.

"I'm guessing it was very old and very expensive," I guessed.

"You're damn right it was!" Dad thundered. His deep voice echoed around the room. Mom turned white, even Lee stopped his bouncing to look slightly scared. "And now it's gone," he snarled, "because an idiotic teenager decided to try and get drunk from it."

"Oh shove of it, _dad_. Just buy yourself another bottle of the damned liquor," I suggested.

Dad was fuming. "Just answer me one question: was it good?"

I shrugged. "I've had better."

"I'll be damned if you have! And that wasn't all you were doing in here now, was it?" He squinted his eyes and peered around the room. "Pot," he said simply, turning his harsh glare back on me.

"Mmm?"

"This room smells like a bloody crack house!" Dad yelled.

"And I suppose you'd know just how a crack house smells."

"Don't be peachy with you father, Tyler Baldwin. You are in no place for that right now," Mom beat dad to the line. I sighed and leant back against the cushions.

"Lee, leave," dad ordered Lee.

"But I—" Lee tried to allow himself to stay.

"LEAVE!" Dad bellowed. Lee scampered from the room without another word. The kid had no backbone.

Mom walked over to stand besides dad. Her heels made no sound on the carpeted floor. She looked at me sadly; the madness was clear through her eyes though. It was just a matter of time before she started off on her own rant.

"Anything else?" I asked idly, exaggeratingly twiddling my thumbs.

"Do not think you are off the hook that easily, Mister," mom warned me with a wag of a long, skinny, manicured finger in my direction. "Neither I nor your father are that naïve, Tyler," she warned me. "Don't think that we haven't known what you've been doing," now she looked on the verge of tears. I failed to feel any sympathy.

"Did you?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "We've caught you on several other instances and so have others. We are not blind."

"Well you certainly missed out on the fact that it was going on right in your own home," I could not conceal the laughter that bubbled within me any longer.

"That's it!" Mom snapped in fury. She expected me to stop laughing but I did the opposite. "I'm finished, Tyler Baldwin! You've pushed me too far this time!" I laughed on. I couldn't stop. My mom continued her rant. They both tried to ignore my laughter. "What haven't I done for you?" she demanded to know. I, needless to say, did not answer. "Your father works hard so that we may provide you and your brother with a good life…"

I laughed harder. "Yeah, it takes real skill to sit around and yell at people all day."

"You will never speak of your father in suck disrespect ever again! Do you hear me!" Mom looked close to hyperventilating by that point yet she still ranted on. "Your father and I have done nothing but good for you! We've bought you nice clothes but you insist on wearing that… that… that… that whatever you have on," she was so furious and gesturing so madly with her hands that she had trouble finding the words she wanted. "I've offered to take you to the best stylist in the city to do something about that hair of yours but you've always declined and are adamant on keeping it that horrid length. If you knew the talk we've heard about the way you dress and your hair. 'Typical stoner look' they say. Your father and I have always stood up for you," she said, "but apparently we were in the wrong doing that too!"

"Breathe, Bell, breathe," dad said softly to mom and rubbed her back soothingly. He still managed to keep that glare going in my direction though.

After a few moments mom decided she felt well enough to carry on. "Your father and I pulled strings and used all of our connections to get you into The Academy, we thought that it would do you a world of good to be around different kids. But what do you do to repay us for our troubles? You are nothing but rude to the staff and students, some of which, may I add, have family in very high positions in this city. And then instead of making friends with the polite children you have to go and befriend the schools… the schools… the druggies, the stoners, the bad kids, whatever you want to call it. You have yet to put even one ounce of effort into your studies. We try to introduce you to nice young ladies from good families and all you do is sneer and pay her no attention.

"But do you know what, Tyler Baldwin? I've had it up to here," she raised her hand as high over her head as she was able to prove her point, "with you. I've tried to be patient, to see if you'd grow out of it. You've pushed me too far now," she warned me. "Obviously life in the city is clearly not what is good for you." She stopped there and looked at dad, obviously wanting him to continue for her.

"The last time you were caught with pot," dad began sternly, "your Aunt Kara offered to have you come to her ranch in Wyoming. She's put you to work with the horses and help her with whatever she and Uncle Rick needed. You'd help with the guests that stayed there. If that offer is still open then I think that that would be exactly what you need."

All I did was laugh harder still. I didn't take them seriously, I just laughed.

**a/n: **So, how'd you like it? I had to write it down before I completely forgot about it. It will get better though. And don't worry; Ty won't always be so stupid. Anyways, I know I have a lot to catch up with but WP and TP will both be updated this week and soon I'm start BP for real. Thanks for reading and review!

-Steph


	2. Family Vacation

**-- Authors Note --**

Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter… though I would like more. I am a greedy person, I know. There are a few changes in Amy's family regarding age and siblings but all will be explained momentarily. Review!

-Steph

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke. Everything else belongs to me, which includes the plot.

**Rodeo Stoner**

**Chapter One – Family Vacation**

_Four years later_

I walked down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, thankful that it was the summer vacation and I didn't have to go to school. I didn't even feel guilty about leaving all the mornings' cores to Joni and Alej, Heartland's two stable hands, quite a rarity for me. But, hey, a girl needs her sleep.

Heartland was a horse farm that my parents, Marion and Tim Fleming started after my dad, Tim, was in a bad jumping accident with his prize jumper, Pegasus. Dad was confined to a wheelchair for some time and was unable to continue competing at the high levels that he had. My parents decided that it was time to move away from England and we came to Virginia in the United States of America to my Grandpa's once cattle ranch. Heartland is a special kind of horse farm that specializes in treating abandoned, abused or frightened horses using natural flower remedies and methods, such as Join-Up to gain their trust. Heartland is a place that never uses punishment, whips or harsh words on the horses. It's Heartland's mission to cure all the horses that come to us and re-home all horses that need a good home once they are cured. I have helped my parents with the horses for as long as I could remember.

The old stairs creaked slightly beneath my feet as I trudged down them.

The rest of my family was already sitting around the table in the old farm houses kitchen when I got there. I plopped into my usual seat without a word, yawning wide.

There was my mom and dad, my eighteen-year-old sister, Lou, Abbey, the baby of the family at five.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," dad teased me. I grunted in reply.

"Bagel and eggs?" Mom asked me as she got up from the table and walked over to the stove and toaster oven.

"Sure." Even though I was still half asleep it didn't mean I wasn't hungry. And that everything bagel smelled good, too.

"Do you want me to heat up the eggs?" Mom asked, looking over her shoulder at me.

"No, it's okay."

Mom placed a plate with an everything bagel, the butter melting on it, and scrambled eggs in front of me. I picked up my knife and spread cream cheese on the bagel. I took a bite. Now that's what I call a good breakfast.

"Amy, Amy! Guess what?" Abbey chirped excitedly in her little girls' voice from her chair at the big table. I looked over at her; sure enough she was bouncing up and down in her seat. Her tight blonde ringlet, inherited from mom (I'm the only one of dad's three daughters that got his hair) bouncing up and down around her face.

"What is it, Abs?" I took another bite of my bagel, this time adding some scrambled eggs to the mix.

"Guess where – guess – guess where," she was so excited that she couldn't even get the words out and she spoke in that little kid way, repeating words over and over but not in a stuttering way. "Guess where – where we're going?" She finally got it out.

Mom and dad looked at each other with a small smile.

"I don't know, Abs," I really didn't know but instead of asking mom and dad I decided to humor my little sister. "Where?"

"We – we're going to – going to a dude ranch!"

"We are?"

"Yes! In Wyom – Wyomening!" She smiled wide.

"It's Wyoming, Abs, remember?" Lou said gently from next to Abbey.

Abbey looked at Lou for a moment. "Oh yeah! Wyoming!"

I got the feeling that I had missed something while I was sleeping. "What did I miss?" I addressed the question to mom and dad.

Mom smiled at me. "We were going to wait until you woke up to tell everyone but Abbey dragged it out of us."

"Hey!" Abbey said indignantly, putting her little hands on her hips.

Mom patted Abbey's back gently. "We, your father and I," she began, her blue as twinkling, "decided that since this is our last summer together as a whole family before Lou goes away to college in the fall –"

"And I go to kindergarten," Abbey put in proudly.

"That's right, dear, before you start kindergarten and Lou goes to Princeton," it was a big deal in my family, Lou getting into Princeton I mean. "We decided that this summer should be spent together as a family. We haven't been on a real vacation in a long time so we decided to do just that this summer."

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"We're going to –"

"Oh, oh! Can I – can I tell, da_ddy_?" Abbey begged in that little kid way that no adult with half a heart can resist. And that half emphasis on 'daddy' really laid it on thick.

"Of course you can, sweetie," my dad's a sucker for that little kid look that Abbey mastered at a young age. I had no hand whatsoever in teaching it to her… I swear.

"We're going to – to Yellowrock!"

I looked at mom and dad.

Dad mouthed, "Yellowstone," back to me.

I nodded in understanding.

"Really, Abs?"

"Yes! And we're – we're going to stay at a – at a… dude ranch!"

I looked at mom and dad with a raised eyebrow. "It isn't really a 'dude ranch', hun," mom said gently.

"Yes it is!" Abbey said firmly.

Dad chuckled and looked back at me. "It's a bed and breakfast, essentially, at this little ranch just out of Cody, Wyoming. Guests stay in these little cabins, breakfast is served in the main house every morning and a traditional barbeque is held there every Wednesday by the fire pit. You can go on trail rides and all right there. It is about a fifteen minute drive to Yellowstone and about the same to town. We can go rafting, riding, hiking, on a wild horse tour and to see the rodeo, among other things."

"Awesome." The whole idea of a "family vacation" sounded a bit questionable but all in all it didn't sound like it would be that bad. "What's this place called?"

"It's called the New Hopes Ranch."

I raised an eyebrow. "Interesting name."

"It's nice," mom said. "Very inspiring." I rolled my eyes in Lou's direction and she cracked a grin back towards me. What an utter 'mother' thing to say. Especially coming from _my_ mom.

"How long are we staying?" I moved along, going right down my list of questions.

Mom and dad exchanged a glance. I eyed them suspiciously. I had a feeling that whatever I heard next would not be good. "We are staying at New Hopes Ranch for two weeks," mom's statement didn't sound complete for some reason.

"And…?" I prompted her on.

"We had planned to make this trip last a full month," dad dropped the bomb.

My mouth fell open. A month? Well there goes all of my summer plans. Maybe I was over reacting a bit but there was only so much time of national parks, museums and historical things and touristy outings – the fact that it was with my mom just made it that much more worse. She was one of those people who were all into the national parks, museums and historical things. It got quite annoying.

"Now before you say anything," mom said before I got the chance to object, "just think about it. This is the opportunity of a life time. Think of all the amazing sights and animals you will be able to see!"

"The second two weeks would be spent in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and at The Grand Tetons," Dad supplied for my benefit.

Mom nodded her head eagerly. "Think of all the things you'll learn!"

Oh yeah, now that you mention _that_…

"Don't even bother," Lou advised me. I looked up at her questioningly. "I've already tried everything. We're really stuck into going on this thing." Well, didn't Lou just sound thrilled.

"Come on, girls," mom sighed. "Your father and I have planned this amazing trip for us to enjoy as a family. Please try and be positive about it."

"I'm positive, mommy!" Abbey said excitedly.

"Yes, I know you are, dear. Thank you," mom smiled at her youngest daughter.

"I want to see the wild horsies!"

"We'll see a lot of wild horses," mom promised a grinning Abbey. She turned back to me and Lou. "Why can't you two girls have the same enthusiasm as your sister here?"

"Mom," Lou leant forward in her chair, "she's five."

"And a half!" Abbey added indignantly.

Little kids were easy like that. Everything sounded fun and enjoyable to them.

"Buck up, girls," dad said, "we're going to have an amazing summer. You won't want it to end."

Lou and I exchanged a look that clearly said, _I can't wait for it _to_ end. _

"This will be our last real family vacation," he added for affect.

"Fine." I don't know why I said that. It's not as though they needed my agreement for the whole thing. "When do we leave?"

"One week from tomorrow."

**&**

"A '_dude_ ranch'?" My best friend, Soraya Martin tried to suppress her laughter.

I nodded grimly. That was all it took for Soraya to break down in a fit of laughter.

"It's really not that funny at all," I reminded her.

She looked back up at me, doing a fine job at containing her laughter, only a few little burst escaped here and there. "That was not funny laughter," she told me, "that was pity laughter," she pointed out factually before she burst into laughter again. "With just a side of humor," she added.

"Thanks so much for the support, Raya," I said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, Ames," she laughed at me. "You've got to be the _only_ almost sixteen-year-old in the country that has to go to a dude ranch. It _is_ pretty funny," she insisted.

"It's a bed and breakfast," I corrected her lamely. As if that fact made it any less embarrassing. I was almost seventeen after all and here I was, going to spend two perfectly good weeks before I start my senior year of high school at what was, first and foremost, a dude ranch.

"Look on the bright side –"

"What bright side?" I mumbled grumpily.

"—you might meet a hot cowboy," she concluded.

I stared at her. "You know, Raya, cowboys _really_ aren't my type."

"It's called a summer fling, Amy," she educated me as we walked into the main stable block at Heartland.

"I don't do summer flings."

"Have you ever tried?"

"No," I responded hesitantly.

"Well then how do you know you can't do one?" I didn't respond. Soraya seemed quite proud of my silence.

"Nevertheless, cowboys really aren't my type," I said yet again.

"What's not to love about a cowboy?" Soraya asked me as we walked slowly down the aisle of the barn. Horse's heads poked out on both sides to look at us. "They're all hot and manly…" she trailed off.

"Well then I'll be sure to bring you back a cowboy," I told my friend. "Maybe they have pocket sized cowboys," my joke failed miserably. Soraya raised and eyebrow at me. "Not like _that_, Raya."

"See?" She began haughtily. "You're having kinky fantasies about cowboys, too."

"I'm not," I insisted. "But you most definitely are."

"I never said I wasn't."

"You're too much," I shook my head. How had Soraya become to be my best friend? It was a mystery that I would always ponder on. It was like the mystery of what dinosaurs actually looked like, like color wise. It would never be solved for sure.

"Alright, so sexy cowboys' aside…" Soraya paused and looked around the barn. "Who am I riding today?"

I was relieved at the end of the cowboy conversation. "Well," I said as we stopped at the end of the barn, "I thought that you could ride Sundance."

Soraya turned to look at me with shock. "Me? Ride Sundance?" she echoed in shock. "Your precious pony that only you can ride?"

"Yeah," I couldn't help my smile. "He could use the work out… unless you don't think you can handle him of course," I teased her. Sundance was known as a handful, he only really liked me to ride him. He was a brat with people and horses alike.

"Of course I can handle him," Soraya exclaimed indignantly. "This is Soraya Martin, Queen Equestrian you're talking to."

"Of course," I laughed. "How could I have forgotten?" I joked.

"I don't know…" Soraya pondered it. She looked back up at me a moment later. "Anyways, who are you going to ride if I'm riding your mighty steed?"

"I thought I'd take Ginny out today," I told her. Soraya nodded in understanding, she knew almost everything about every horse here at Heartland. Ginny was a twelve-year-old, Quarter Horse Paint cross. She was white with palomino markings, she was a gorgeous mare. She was shown by her owners in jumping but had taken to refusing fences. She had come to Heartland and we had helped her. She was all set to go back home in the next few days so I figured I'd give her one last good ride. "I figured we could take them on the cross-country trail, I know Gins would like that. And Sunny too of course," I stroked his buckskin head that had popped out next to me.

Soraya and I grabbed our grooming kits and tack from the tack room before returning to our respective horses stall. I set to work currying Ginny's soft coat. I glanced over to see if Sunny was treating Soraya alright but all I saw was Soraya's shoulders shaking as she brushed Sunny down.

At first I thought she was crying which led me to believe that Sunny had bitten her. "Raya?" I asked in alarm. "Are you okay?"

I was given no verbal answer. Instead she just burst out laughing, muttering incoherent things all the while. All I caught was one word, and that word was, "cowboy." I shook my head and returned to brushing Ginny. I didn't say anything and soon enough Soraya's laughter died down a bit. I still heard the occasional chuckle though.

I concentrated on sweeping the body brush along Ginny's back. Her withers twitched to get a fly off. I patter her side once I was done and gently placed the saddle pad and saddle on her back.

Soraya was insane, she had to have lost her mind over night or something. What was so good about a cowboy anyway? Sure, maybe they did have the tendency to be hot and all (and those Stetsons were damn sexy) but cowboys so weren't my type.

Me and a cowboy?

HA

Like that would ever happen.

**a/n: **It was really short, I know but the only point of this chapter was the first part. The second was purely for my enjoyment. It would have been up sooner but my slacker side took charge and I spent my time downloading music videos off of iTunes and then watching them. Good times… haha. Now, I have a… one could call it a "_bribe_" I suppose. I will post a special chapter all about Ty as the next chapter if I get ten or more reviews for this chapter. If not, bye-bye, Ty! You can just have more of Amy… you KNOW you want to review now… all of you. Review! -Steph


	3. Departing Philadelphia

**--Authors Note--**

Hey! Sorry, I've been reeeeeally busy and I've been sick and yeah. Well, I'll just get right to the chapter. Enjoy! Review! OOOH! Who else is excited for MCR's new Album? I can't fucking wait. I've been home sick all day and been listening to the radio-edit version of Welcome to the Black Parade. It's the version iTunes has at the time. God, I love the beginning! But, what did Gerard do to his hair! OMG, his hair was soooo hot before. Oh well, he's still damn sexy… ANYWAYS, moving on…

-Steph

**Disclaimer: **Based LOOSELY off of the Heartland series by Lauren Brooke.

**Rodeo Stoner**

**Chapter Two— Departing Philadelphia**

Ty's POV

I shouldn't have laughed. But I did. That was all I did: laugh.

I don't regret what I did. Not one bit. I don't care if it got me into more trouble. I don't care if it just further proved my parents points.

What did I owe them anyway?

Nothing.

Yeah, so who _cared_ that all I did was laugh at them?

It was all bound to happen sooner or later and it just happened sooner rather then later.

I'd never seen them move so fast though. Calling Aunt Kara and Uncle Rick, booking a plane ticket, throwing all my stuff into boxes and shipping them off. I would have argued my way out of it, or at least packed my own stuff, but I was finally getting my wish!

I was finally leaving! Finally I would have to have nothing more to do with my parents and my brother!

It was what I had always been waiting for, yet I had always imagined it as me leaving. Not the way it was going with _them_ kicking _me_ out.

So, excuse me if I wasn't a little pissed.

And excuse me if I didn't feel quite so sentimental as my mother at the airport.

I sulked into the kitchen moodily that morning and all my mother could do was berate my outfit. "Those pants! No, no, no! They're much too tight! Can't you wear anything other then black?"

See? You'd hate them too. Who the hell cared what I was wearing? They shouldn't, they were the ones kicking me out! I found absolutely nothing with my outfit. Black, slim fitting jeans, a fitted, black Henley sweater type thing with a black and white striped tee under it, black and white checked Converse high-tops, dark leather bracelet and leather cuff with a chipped painted metal plate I always wore.

But, no! Her complaints went beyond my wardrobe, too! "What's wrong with your hair? Can't you brush it? You're going out into public, you know. At least brush it to the side so we can see your eyes!" I liked my hair and could find no fault with it. It went down to the back of neck, just curling a little and almost completely covered my eyes.

I didn't even grace her with an answer, fucking bitch. Like hell I was changing. Like hell I was doing anything she wanted. I turned back around and went to sit in my empty room again, ignoring her pleas for me to eat something.

When I was called, I grabbed the last thing of importance in my room, my black messenger bag, slung it over my shoulders and slammed my door behind me without a backwards glance.

Dad stood at the foot of the stairs with Lee and mom. Lee looked ready to wet his fucking pants in excitement.

"Don't forget your skateboard, Ty!" Lee chirped.

"Go fuck yourself," I advised him pointedly and shoved him out of my way.

I easily sidestepped the arm that swung out towards me and continued down the hall, ignoring dad's bellows all the way. I walked out of the penthouse that I had come to despise and took the elevator down to the lobby, glaring at the group of expensively dressed teenage girls in the elevator.

I gladly left the giggling idiots behind. I sat in a chair in the lobby and waited for my parents and Lee to join me. I taped my foot on the floor.

"Don't you ever pull something like that again, do you hear me?" Dad hissed at me and gripped my arm tightly once they were in the lobby, too.

I blinked up at him slowly a few times. "You're hurting my arm." He tossed my arm aside and ushered mom and Lee out of the building, I followed behind them at a leisurely pace.

I taunted my fathers back the whole while. Fucking bastard.

I climbed into the back of the black Escalade and dad slammed the door behind me. It wasn't a terribly long ride to the Philadelphia International Airport. The traffic got worse as we neared though. Figures, my escape out comes from one of the worst airports in the country. Classic.

Dad pulled up to the US Airways departing area and I jumped out immediately. I stood on the curb with my black bag over my shoulder waiting for my parents and Lee to get out. I would have been long, believe that fact if nothing else I say, if it were not for the fact that my mom had insisted on holding the boarding pass dad had printed online the night before. Oh, and the ridiculous fact that I was a minor and traveling alone and, therefore, had to wait for some airport security guy to escort me to my gate.

My mother conversed briefly with a guy in uniform at the baggage check-in. I glared, arms folded over my chest. Dad stood by the Escalade and Lee looked higher then I had ever seen someone. And, to think, they're sending _me_ away? Have they _seen_ their younger son? Fucking mini clone of my bastard father. It would be the kind thing to do to get the kid help, if it wasn't too late for it by that point—which I'm pretty sure it was.

"Ty, honey," mom came back to where I was standing. I fixed my glare on her. Honey? Did she actually think she could call me that? She kept her calm exterior though. "This is Jayne," the blonde woman standing next to mom smiled warmly at me. I nearly choked in disgust. Had this woman never heard of a perfume limit? She looked a bit disturbed by my appearance and lack of emotion. "She's going to make sure you get onto the plane safely, alright?"

The sad part is she actually expected an answer.

She looked near tears. Wonderful.

"Tyler," dad spoke up. He still didn't seem particularly happy with me but that was basically his routine by then. "We're not doing this to be mean, it's for your own good. You understand that, right?"

Like hell I do. "Whatever." Fuck you.

I turned my back on him and Lee, turning to face my mom and the woman in the standard flight attendants navy skirt suit, 'Jayne'. Mom stepped forwards and opened her arms to give me a hug but I quickly sidestepped her.

"Boarding pass," I ordered and held out my hand expectantly.

She looked closer to tears as she fumbled in her purse. She pulled out my boarding pass and tried to hand it over to Jayne. I snatched it out of her hands before Jayne's manicured fingers could touch it. It was my ticket out and I'd be damned if I was going to let some lady wearing too much perfume touch it.

"See ya," was my final farewell—I mandatory 'fuck you' farewell in my head— before I strode through the revolving doors and into the terminal. I heard my name being called but I didn't look back.

I quickly got onto the escalator to go to the security check. There was a rushed clicking of high heels behind me. Come to think of it, I could have some fun with this woman Jayne.

I grinned as I read my boarding pass.

Depart: **Philadelphia, Pennsylvania**/11:05 a.m.

Goodbye city of fucking brotherly love.

**&**

That ticket stub stayed in my wallet for the next four years. It was the only reminder I had that my fucked up life could be a whole hell of a lot worse.

Cody, Wyoming was a small, small, _small_ town. The only attractions were the Cody Stampede Rodeo and Yellowstone National Park. Neither of which I had any interest in—at the time.

I hated everything about it.

I hated fucking New Hopes Ranch.

I hated the horses.

I hated the work.

I hated the guests that stayed there.

I hated having to do what the guests asked me.

I hated the other hands.

I hated that damned farm house and my fucking room.

I hated Uncle Rick and Aunt Kara.

I hated the fucking school my 'parents' had enrolled me in.

I hated the prissy idiots that went there.

I hated the town.

I hated the people.

I hated EVERYTHING about fucking Cody, Wyoming.

It was dead in the winters and 'alive' in the summers. I hated the summers most. That was when the God damned guests all came. And that meant having to tack up their stupid horses for them and wait on them hand and foot. Just kill me.

I could have run them through with the fucking pitchfork when they called me a 'cowboy'. I was NOT a cowboy. Fuck cowboys. Fuck the damn rodeo.

There wasn't anything to _do_. Which I guess is something that my 'parents' took into consideration before they sent me here. The less there was to do then the less trouble I'd get into. That was their philosophy at least.

What? Did they think that I was going to be a perfect clone of Lee? I'm not a fucking goody-two shoe. Did they honestly think that they could keep me out of trouble just by sending me to the middle of nowhere, USA? Maybe it wasn't Philly but there was trouble to be found everywhere. And I was quite good at finding trouble wherever I went.

Cody Prep finally just expelled me when I was sixteen. The second best day of my fucking life up to that point. Uncle Rick signed the drop-out papers for the public school and I never went back.

I had been saving every bit of the money I had earned working on New Hopes and planned to buy my own car. Uncle Rick gave me his old pick-up before I got the chance. That pissed me off. Why wouldn't they fucking let me do anything for myself? They even gave me this little casita thing behind the stables. I have no idea what I ever did to make them trust me with my own _place_. God knows I did everything in my power to make them miserable.

So, in retaliation to them all, I went out and befriended the kids that, as my mother would say, were the "kids with no futures." But, hell, I was a kid with no future, too. I fit right in.

Speaking of my 'parents', asides from cards sent on birthdays and holidays that were burned sacredly they never visited. Sure, mom tried to call. But it's not like I was about to waste my already wasted time even more by talking to her. They sent me money of course. I hated that damned money with every fiber of my being and was tempted to just burn it along with the unread cards but better judgment won out on that one matter.

That cursed money bought me the two things that were the only things I cared about in the world. I planned to pay my father and mother back every last penny of what they sent me.

There was nothing to do in fucking Cody, Wyoming. It is the single most boring and annoying place in the United States. If there had ever been even the tiniest wonder as to why only tourists really every came then there sure as hell wasn't now. No place has ever lacked so much… _excitement_.

And that, and no other reason, is why I started to ride.

There was just nothing else to _do_.

So I taught myself how to ride. Uncle Rick offered to teach me. Like hell I was going to take up that offer. The day that Ty Baldwin asks for help is the day he's six feet under.

So maybe I did take a few unnecessary and clearly avoidable falls. And maybe I did have a fair number of scratches and a broken wrist at one point.

I still didn't ask for help.

No, I just got on the most spirited horse at the joint and went for it. Always a good approach. Do it fast, just like pulling off a band-aide. Except, I suppose this was fairly different and perhaps the 'band-aide' approach was not my best nor my brightest idea but I still learned, didn't I?

Which would lead to another thing I hate:

I hate taking the guests on trail rides.

I hate answering their stupid ass questions on the town, the state, Yellowstone, New Hopes Ranch, the horses, the mountains, EVERYTHING and myself.

I hated them asking about me the most. But, I always got a kick out of their reactions when I told them my parents had kicked me out for 'reasons'. I let their little imaginations do the thinking from then on.

It was always a much dreaded experience when I saw a car driving up the dusty driveway. All the cars looked exactly the same. Just like the dusty gray Jeep.

I was just starting my mornings work mucking out the round pen when the telltale sound of crunching gravel alerted me to the arrival of another visitor. I looked up as a dusty gray Jeep rolled by; a little girl had her face pressed to the window. The Jeep parked at the bottom of the narrow and steep hill that led to the farm house.

Fuck it.

Someone else could deal with the new arrivals.

Welcome to another day in hell.

**a/n: **short, I know but it was just wrapping up Ty's character. Oh, and if you think TP Ty gave Amy a hard time then just wait until the next chapter. Oh-ho! He-he. Man, TP Ty's gonna look like a Saint compared to RS Ty. Ah, reviews will equal in a faster update… and I will update soon. No long wait. Sorry about that… review! -Steph


	4. Rebel Cowboy

**a/n: **I SHOULD be updating TP… and I was. I had like five pages and I absolutely hated it because Ty's character wasn't… _Ty_! And that I cannot have. So, I deleted it and am hoping that by updating this I will be able to get TP Ty back into bad-boy mode because, seriously, he's been slacking off recently and that is just disgraceful. Sorry but hope you like this chapter anyways!

Review!

-Steph

Oh, and before I forget: I know I'm basing Ty's tattoo off of one of Austin Winkler's… lead singer for Hinder. Amazing band and HOTT guy. I'm absolutely in love with this tattoo so it just seems natural to give it to Ty ;)

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke.And Austin Winkler gets FULL credit for his tattoo… he-he…

**Rodeo Stoner**

**Chapter Three—Rebel Cowboy**

Well, Wyoming really was gorgeous, I'll give them that. The sky was cloudless and bright blue, mountains or other spectacular rock formations were all around us, the rocks were all different colors. There were still trees though, not the kind of big, leafy things you'd find back home in Virginia, but they were still trees. It was like the perfect mixture of desert and non-desert, if that makes any sense.

The car dad rented wouldn't have been my first choice, it was a silver (more like gray) Jeep Cherokee, and not the newest version either. It could have been worse I suppose.

Lou, Abbey and I were all smushed into the back seat and all our bags were piled in the trunk. To spare the details, it was a pretty tight fit. Abbey was napping in the middle, Lou was listening to her iPod and doing some summer work for Princeton and I was just listening to my iPod. Mom and dad had some kind of music playing on the radio but, well, it wasn't my kind of thing, the iPod was much better.

"Are we almost there?" I moaned as I shifted my seat.

"Five more minutes," mom said back.

I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window and watched the scenery pass. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of driving in place, we turned up a gravel driveway, the sign hanging above read 'New Hopes Ranch'. It was quite a… sweet name as my mom continuously said.

"Oh, girls!" mom said from the front seat. "We're here!"

I turned off my iPod and Lou tucked her papers back into her bag. Abbey bolted straight up just as I was about to wake her and said, "Are we here?"

"Yes, Abs," mom said, turning in her seat to smile at us, "we're here."

"Yay!" Abbey clapped her hands excitedly and peered over me so that she could see out of the window.

I decided that it wouldn't hurt anything if I were to look around, too. On either side of the gravel driveway that we were driving up was an empty field. At the end of the driveway, the gravel fanned out and was lined with small cabins. The road continued to the side (that's the way that dad went). There was a main barn and on the side there were several round pens that seemed to ultimately form one seeing as none of them were closed off and they were all attached.

The horses were your standard trail horses—there were Quarter Horses, Paints and maybe a few once mustangs and several draft crosses. The horses were all different colors and sizes but they all appeared to be semi muscled… though not really well worked, if that makes any sense. They were, really, standard trail horses, sturdy and tough but not particularly amazing.

I noticed two guys working, they were both mucking out a section of the round pen. Now, these two guys were complete opposites. Both of the guys were young, but only the first looked like you typical western, ranch working cowboy. He wore jeans, cowboy boots, a worn in cowboy hat, a plaid shirt tucked into his pants and had a bandana tied around his neck.

Now, the second guy…? Well, he was wearing a pair of dark, semi fitted jeans and a brown t-shirt with some kind of big, black design on it that due to the distance and the faded quality of it I couldn't make out. Those weren't so bad; he still didn't look too cowboy-ish though. His hair was dark and long, almost completely covering his eyes in the front but it didn't touch his shoulders. He had broad shoulders and, if his arms were any indication, was extremely well fit. Not overly like bodybuilder or football player muscles but, he certainly wasn't scrawny. On his right arm I thought I could just make out something winding around his arm, starting at the wrist and ending somewhere under the sleeve of his shirt… can anyone say serious tattoo? He looked ridiculously out of place next to Mr. Cowboy over there… in fact; he looked as about fit for a ranch as I was fit for… a Brittney Spears look-alike. Yes, I know, bad comparison but it's the only thing I could think of at the time. Here, let me try again: his fitting in on the ranch was like me fitting in with Ashley Grant and her groupies. That's more accurate.

Both of the guys glanced up as they heard the car pass. Mr. Cowboy glanced at Tattoo Guy but Tattoo Guy seemed to care less and went back to his work with a furious passion. I've never seen anyone jam a pitchfork into the ground quite that hard before.

Dad pulled the car over at the bottom of a steep hill that led (where else) up to a farm house.

Mr. Cowboy came running over after propping his pitchfork against the fence. Dad got out of the car to meet him.

"Hello, sir," dad said.

"Hello," Mr. Cowboy said back in a friendly manner. "My name is Adam."

"I'm Tim and that's my wife Marion," dad pointed through the opened door to my mom who smiled and waved. "And my daughters, Lou, Amy and Abbey," he gestured back to us.

"Nice to meet you," Mr. Cowbo—er, _Adam_—said.

"Do we have to go up to the house to sign in or anything?" dad asked Adam.

"No, if you could turn your car around and park down by the cabins though," Adam said, gesturing back the way we had come. "I think you're in Apache."

"We are," mom called from inside the car. It was moments like these that I remembered exactly why I was supposed to be embarrassed around her. "I have it right here on the reservation printout!" and she even wiped out her yellow plastic folder titled 'Summer '06 Yellowstone/Grand Tetons family trip'.

Adam nodded good naturedly and (thankfully) refrained from making any comments on mom's folder. "Well, Apache is the third cabin in, the door's open for you."

"Thank you very much, Adam," dad held out his hand.

Adam shook dads' hand. "No problem, sir. Enjoy your stay and remember that we have a barbeque every Wednesday night down by the fire pit and there's a continental breakfast in the house every morning from six to eleven."

Dad thanked Adam again before he got back into the car. The car turned around and, using the safety of the tinted windows, I looked closely at Tattoo Guy. I could have sworn I caught the glimpse of a pair of Converses… could that even _be_ right?

I couldn't help but wonder what was up with Tattoo Guy. Here he was, working in Wyoming on a ranch but he seemed to be rebelling the cowboy way… hmm, a rebel cowboy. Soraya would like this guy… though she did seem partial to her cowboys.

My musings were cut short as dad said, "We're here!"

Well, it didn't look too bad from the outside. I grabbed my book bag and my duffle bag and followed mom, dad, Lou and Abbey up the three stairs and into the cabin. Well, the entrance got a bit crowded. Somehow I managed to squeeze by and follow Lou into the "kids' room" as mom called it.

It wasn't a particularly large room; there were three twin beds along the wall, a couple shelves and a bar for hanging stuff. Abbey immediately claimed the bed by the window and Lou took the one in the middle, leaving me with the one on the end that just so happened to be placed conveniently in front of the door. Oh well, more bag space too the side.

There was a door in our room that led to a small bathroom. Sink, toilet and a shower that I swear came straight from my old camp. Yeah, _nice_. It wasn't dirty; it was just the kind with the plastic walls and, like, no pressure.

I walked through the bathroom and out the other door and ended up in… mom and dads room. Nice spread this place's got. Mom and dad had a full size bed and a little dresser type thing. There was a mini fridge and an old looking phone. No TV though.

Yeah, it was pretty small… and my home for the next two weeks. _Wooooonderful_. And I had my family, a bunch of cowboys and a rebel cowboy for company… oh, and any other guests that we didn't scare out of the place.

Abbey bounded out of our room and jumped onto mom and dads' bed. We were awarded with a rather loud creak. I caught the look mom and dad shared. Hey, at least I don't get the squeaky bed; they deserve it for making us spend two weeks here.

The obnoxiously loud squeaking got softer and softer as Abbey steadied her bouncing. "I want to see the horsies!" she declared.

"Girls," mom turned to Lou and I. Uh-oh. "Take Abbey to go see the horses, please," she added.

Lou and I consented without a fight because, I think this applies for both of us; there wasn't a thing to do in that little cabin.

Abbey skipped ahead as Lou and I walked at a leisurely pace to the round pen.

"I'm hoping one of these workers is cute," Lou said out of the blue.

"Um," I said, not expecting that question at all, "okay."

"What?" Lou shrugged. "Don't you?"

"Um," I said again, "I hadn't really thought about it."

Lou laughed. "Of course you have, Amy," she insisted. "Haven't you heard how cowboys are supposedly all hot and macho-macho manly types? Especially without shirts and a Stetson…" Lou trailed off.

"Alright," I laughed, "now you're sounding exactly like Soraya."

Lou snapped out of Lou-Land. "Smart friend you've got."

"Yeah, okay," I shook my head.

We had reached the round pens by that time and Abbey was already pressed up against the fence, holding her hand out to one of the horses. She had picked the part where most of the drafts were congregated. That's nice. I felt slightly relived to see Adam standing next to her.

I know we live on a horse farm and all but we don't have drafts or draft crosses and, well, seeing your little sister next to a draft horse is kind of unnerving.

"Hey," Lou said as she sidled up to Adam. Well, I hadn't thought she'd put her plan into action with the first guy she saw… well, I suppose Adam was good looking enough. He had dark hair and dark eyes; he was tall and well built. If he lost the shirt then he'd be Lou's definition of the perfect guy. "Adam, right?"

Adam eyed Lou up and down and then smiled. "Yeah, and you are?"

"I'm Lou," she placed a hand on her chest and smiled. Typical Lou. "And that's my sister Amy and my other sister Abbey," she pointed to me as she said my name and Abbey as she said her name.

"Nice to meet you," Adam said. "Hey, I was just about to ask your sister if she wanted to feed the horses any treats. Would that be okay?"

"Of course it is," Lou said with a bright smile.

Lou pulled me next to her as Adam disappeared to get some horse treats. Adam came back with two handfuls of horse treats and gave us each a few of them, he gave Abbey one or two extra and she grinned like a little kid on Christmas.

Adam stayed nearby as we fed the horses. He chatted with Lou as I watched Abbey. One of our big fans was this young looking white horse with blue eyes. It was skinny but not so much as to think that it was being mistreated. One of the bulkier drafts came up and bit the skinny one on the hindquarters and the skinny one kicked out its legs with a piercing whinny. The draft kicked up its hefty hooves in response.

Needless to say, I dragged Abbey away from the fence. All Abbey did was giggle though.

"Oh, is she okay?" Lou asked Adam in a concerned voice as she came up to the fence to pat the white's neck.

"Yeah, Jewel just gets picked on a bit because she's only two and she's only been here a little while."

"Oh!" Abbey suddenly burst out. "Look as those two horsies! They're preeeeeetty!" I looked to where she was pointing.

Abbey had somehow managed to locate a small round pen that was, indeed, separate from the big one, that I had missed. It was smaller and contained only two horses—they had plenty of room and it was clean and they had water and a pile of hay though.

These two horses were substantially different from the rest that much you could tell on first glance. They weren't trail horses, that fact was obvious. They were both tall and muscled, the muscles rippling trough their haunches and shoulders and necks as they moved. Their coats were brushed to perfection and shone in the bright sunlight.

One of the horses was a big blue roan and the other was a slightly smaller (just slightly though) brown and white paint. The paint had a black and white mane and was mostly a reddish brown except for a white patch on the left side starting at the middle of the neck and going down to the shoulder. The paint had a white stocking on its left hind leg, a white blaze and white spot in the back. The roan had a jet black mane and tail—it was the perfect blue roan horse. I thought both horses were gelding but it wasn't like I was about to go and _look_ to check.

Abbey was already skipping off to go and feed the two other horses. Lou, Adam and I followed her. Abbey was almost to the round pen and the blue roan and the paint were watching her curiously. Their big, attentive and intelligent eyes were on her and their ears were pricked forwards. Abbey's ponytail bobbed up and down as she skipped and her sneakers kicked up small clouds of dust.

It was then that things got weird.

Tattoo Guy appeared out of nowhere and stood near the round pen. The two horses immediately lost interest in the approaching Abbey as they caught sight of Tattoo Guy and trotted over to him.

Abbey went unfazed by the horses reactions and just slightly changed her route so that she was now skipping _towards_ Tattoo Guy.

Should I be scared?

"Sorry," Tattoo Guy said as we all stopped near the pen. His voice was deep and slightly gravely, it sounded like he had just been screaming or something. I eyed him (yes, those were Converses he was wearing) just as he looked at me. I caught the glimpse of emerald green eyes burning through the long locks of dark hair. Those eyes weren't like any eyes I had ever seen. For starters, the color was unlike any I had ever seen and, second, they shone with anger and hatred as he looked at us. I was a bit taken aback. "But these horses are not allowed to be fed treats," he finished.

"Oh, sorry, we didn't know," Lou jumped in. I almost laughed; how easily she was distracted from Adam. "I'm Lou by the way."

I could practically _hear_ Tattoo Guy thinking "and I care why?" but, all he said was, "Uh-huh." He didn't offer a name or anything. "Just don't feed these two," he repeated, patting the paint on the neck before he walked off to… go smoke pot with his buddies probably. No, that was mean, just because of the way he looked didn't mean he was a druggie. He was pretty good looking come to think of it, though. Much better then Adam.

"Yeah," Adam spoke up after Tattoo Guy was gone. "I forgot Ty hates anyone touching his horses."

"Those are his horses?" I asked at the same time Lou asked,

"His name is Ty?"

Adam looked between the two of us and laughed. "Yes," he said, "two both questions," he added as an afterthought. "His name is Ty and those are his two horses, Red and Blue."

"Which one's which?" I asked curiously.

"The paint's Red and the blue roan is Blue." Okay, well, duh. I felt a little stupid after that. I could have guessed which one was which.

"Those aren't very original names," Lou laughed.

Adam shrugged. "Yeah, well, Ty won't change them, says he likes them but, then again, he doesn't do anything anyone tells him to or suggests that he does so whatever. I've suggested better names for them but he doesn't care."

I think that Adam was hoping to get Lou to ask what names he thought would be better for Blue and Red but Lou didn't even notice his expression. "Oh, so he's a bad-boy type then?" she giggled.

"Well, no one knows anything about him except that Rick and Kara, the couple that owns this place, are his aunt and uncle and that he's been here about four years. There are rumors that he got into trouble at home and his parents sent him here when he was fourteen. He was expelled from Cody Prep when he was sixteen though, everyone knows that. Some people say drug involvement but I don't really know. That guy doesn't talk to anyone, he doesn't say anything unless it's to scorn someone or something or to tell you to leave him or his horses alone," Adam shrugged.

"What does he do with Red and Blue?" I managed to get into the conversation.

Adam shrugged again. "No one really knows that either. He takes them out on his days off; don't know what he does with them though. Some people say he goes and rides in Yellowstone. I don't know if he competes with them, they're kept in pretty good condition though." Actually, Adam was wrong. Red and Blue weren't in good shape, they were in amazing shape.

"Have you ever seen him ride?" I asked next. I glanced at Lou and she was looking bored with the conversation.

"No," Adam said, "no one ever has, I don't think. I think he only rides them at night when no one else is around. He's a weird guy," Adam shook his head. "Oh," Adam began again, "he does lead some of the trails but that hardly takes riding talent."

It was then that Lou announced that we had to be getting back to mom and dad. She said bye to Adam and then dragged me and Abbey back to the cabin. Abbey resumed her skipping.

"That guy was hot," Lou said, "dontcha think?"

"Who? Adam?"

"No," Lou said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That other guy, Ty."

"You think?"

"Definitely."

"So, are you ditching Adam already?" I joked.

"No," Lou said to my surprise. "Ty's not my type and, besides, it would take too long to get anywhere with him, I can already tell. We're only here for two weeks after all."

"Yeah."

"You can have Ty though," Lou said next, much to my surprise.

"Um, excuse me?"

"You can have Ty," Lou repeated. "You've always liked challenges, right? Just pretend he's like one of the horses back home that you have to get to trust you."

"Thanks, Lou, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend at the moment."

"You're _never_ looking for a boyfriend, Amy," she corrected me. I shrugged. "And, besides, who said anything about a boyfriend? All he has to be is a summer fling."

"Not looking for one of those either."

Thankfully, we had reached our little cabin and so the conversation had to be stopped.

It was as I followed Lou through the door that I realized that I hadn't gotten a good look at Ty's tattoos. Damn. Oh well, I'd see him around… possibly. But I'd have to be discreet about it, I couldn't very well go up to him and ask to see his tattoos. Yeah, after informally "meeting" him for, like, two seconds I really don't think that would go over well with him.

Lou was absolutely on something if she thought that I had a chance with that guy.

He may not have been a cowboy, but he still wasn't my type.

**a/n: **he's my type… ahem. Well, this Ty is like my perfect guy. Anyways, it wasn't very good or very long but it will get longer and better. Review! TP is definitely next this time! Oh, and I have the first chapters of two new stories written… anyone want another story? I think I'm going to post one of them tonight. REVIEW! -Steph


	5. The Barbeque

**Authors Note--**

I know I haven't updated anything for ever but I'm working on it, sorry!! All I'm going to say before I get on with the chapter is that I need more reviews for this chapter because I got, like, half of what I usually get for the last chapter. I KNOW it was basically just a filler and all but still. Anyways, enjoy! And I'm half done a chapter for BP and a chapter for WP, I just felt like writing this! And there are only two chapters left of TP (I think) and I know what's going to happen in the next chapter of TUP so… I'll update everything ASAP! Promise…

Review!

-Steph

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke

**Rodeo Stoner**

**Chapter Four— The Barbeque **

_Wednesday_

Mom and dad woke us all up early the next day. Abbey practically bounded out of her bed but Lou and I rolled back over to go back to sleep. Jetlag sucks. That's all there is to it. Well, _fine_. So that's a bad excuse seeing as how it's early over in the west then it is in the east and all… alright, fine. So I just wanted to sleep more. So sue me.

I think I recall moms exact words being, "Come on, girls! You're wasting prime Yellowstone time sleeping!"

Yeah. You'd want to go back to sleep, too, believe me.

Abbey seemed convinced that we were going to see some 'wild horsies' in Yellowstone and came back into our room and proceeded to jump on Lou and my respective beds until we were up. Aren't little sisters the greatest? I so wouldn't be driving her anywhere when she was older.

"Let's go see the wild horsies! Let's go see the wild horsies! Let's go see the wild horsies! Let's go see the wild horsies!" Abbey chanted over and over and over and I swear that I thought she would never stop.

After I was dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a sweatshirt—you'd be surprised how cool it was in the mornings up in Wyoming—I pulled my hair into a ponytail and went to meet everyone else out on the porch.

It was then announced that we were going to go up to the house to enjoy that continental breakfast thing that they had every morning.

Lou and I followed slightly behind mom, dad and Abbey as we went up to the house. The horses were still peaceful in their pens, probably enjoying all the time they had before people came to ride them. There was a guy I hadn't met tossing hay to the horses.

We walked up that steep hill and then up some stairs to the front of the house. Mom just opened the door and walked right in the rest of us followed. Maybe it was just me, but isn't there something a bit weird about just walking into someone's house? Whatever.

Mom and dad greeted Rick and Kara—the couple that owned the place—who were sitting at one of the tables in the dining room. Kara held a little baby on her lap—I think they said his name was Dakota. Kara was medium height and skinny with long blonde hair while Rick looked like a hardcore cowboy. He had the worn in boots, stained jeans, cowboy hat and big belt buckle to prove it. The baby, Dakota, was cute but rather bald and looked kind of big sitting of Kara's lap. Kara's mom and dad were also at the table. They were 'living' in the cabin next to us. I swear, living. They'd been there for like three months so far. Wow…

Anyway, there was one other family at one of the other tables and we sat at a circular table in the corner before we got up and helped ourselves to the _splendid_ buffet that was laid out for us. Basically, it was donuts, muffins, cereal, coffee, water, orange juice and fruit. Oh, and some pastries. I got a glazed donut and headed back to the table. Mom got a plate of fruit for us all to share… she always did that a help-yourself kind of meals.

We ate quietly at first but then mom started chatting away about all the animals and cool things we'd see. Abbey still insisted that we'd see 'wild horsies' and no one told her differently.

We were just finishing up our breakfast when a door slammed shut and someone was stomping towards the dining room. There was also the sound of claws against the hard wood floor.

A little dog bounded into the dining room. Abbey got up to pet it but mom told her to finish her cantaloupe. Well, it wasn't really a small dog, more medium sized. It was one of those Australian Cattle Dogs. It was a rich gray color all over its body, a bit of tan on its face and front legs and black ears. Very cute dog.

It went over to Rick and Kara and demanded attention. The baby on Kara's lap giggled as the dog licked and snuffled its face.

And then the dog's mystery owner or whatever entered the room. It was the guy from yesterday—I think his name was Ty. Today, we wore a pair of darkish jeans that were faded on the thighs. They were looser then the ones he had worn the day before but they sure weren't ready to fall off his butt. He got some points for the plaid shirt he was wearing; it was dark blue and black with a pocket on either side of his chest. The shirt emphasized his broad shoulders and it was left unbuttoned—he had a black tee-shirt underneath though—and the sleeves rolled to his elbows. Any points he got for almost appearing to fit in on the ranch were taken away—he still wore those Converses.

"Hey, Ty," Kara made an attempt at being cheerful.

"What do you have planned for the day?" Rick asked him next.

Ty turned to Rick with a bit of an incredulous expression on his face and in his eyes—at least what I could see of his eyes. "I'm going on that ridiculous trail ride you're making me go on," he said bitterly. "Why else would I be wearing this shirt?" Yep, all points lost.

"Ty," Rick said in a warning voice. "We have guests," he reminded his nephew.

"Don't we always," Ty muttered.

He did look a little out of it… or maybe that was just how he always looked. I couldn't be sure. And then, with great excitement, I remembered his tattoo. I looked at his arms as surreptitiously as I could manage. There were two leather cuff things on his right wrist and then winding up his arm was what looked like a vine with dead flowers… um, alright. And then there was some sort of tattoo band type thing around his left wrist. Oh boy. There was something wrong with that guy… maybe I wasn't so far of in targeting him as a stoner.

"Adam will be going on the trail ride this afternoon, too," I heard Rick say.

Ty cringed and then smirked. "Wonderful," he said sarcastically. "Is that supposed to make it all better? I'd rather kill myself then spend time with that—"

"Ty," Kara stopped him.

"Fine. I'll just go and make sure that none of those idiots gives one of my horses two much hay." Ty spun around and stomped out of the room only stopping to yell, "Let's go, Gray," and the dog bounded out after him.

After he left, Kara looked over at us and the other family apologetically. "Sorry about Ty," she said. "He's really not a bad kid, just a bit rough around the edges," she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

We said goodbye then and left, after assuring Kara and Rick that we would be at the barbeque thing that night.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Yellowstone was interesting and all don't get me wrong. It's just that I wasn't as into it as mom and dad were. Abbey thought it was cool but she really just wanted to see those 'wild horsies'. Lou may have tried to act like she didn't love it but we all knew she did—she loves outdoorsy stuff like that. I just couldn't see anything to go crazy about over it. I mean, yeah, sure, it was cool and the rock formations were pretty cool looking and all but I just wasn't, like, wetting myself to get a picture of the mountain goat on the rocks.

Things got interesting later when we returned back to New Hopes Ranch. It wasn't actually until the barbeque that the day got a lot more exciting… or, well, as exciting as you can expect it to get in the middle of nowhere… or Cody, Wyoming but what's the difference? Really.

So, the barbeque was in front of our cabin and down a little hill. There was a pond that was used for fishing, a fire hole and a little enclosed area where the food was. Rick was just finishing up barbequing the hamburgers and hotdogs when we got there. Other then that, there was cornbread, corn, baked beans, stuffing—your typical cowboy/ranch type of meal.

We sat at one of the benches around the fire while we ate. The rest of the people staying there were there, so were Rick and Kara and baby Dakota along with the rest of the stable hands. There were also the rest of the dogs that lived on New Hopes Ranch—practically a given around a barbeque.

After we had eaten, mom and dad went off to talk to some people they had met earlier that day. Abbey went off to play 'horsies' with a girl and a boy that were her age. Lou and I just sat around and tried not to look too bored.

"Hey," a guy said and Lou and I looked up. It was Adam—and he had decided to sit down at our table.

"Hey," Lou said in a flirty voice and suddenly looked a little more into life.

I choked back a laugh.

"So, did you guys have a good day?" he even had the courtesy to glance at me—even though the question was 100 percent directed to Lou.

I let Lou answer. "Oh yeah, it was pretty cool. We went to Yellowstone."

"The park's amazing, isn't it?" Adam leaned his arms on the table and looked at Lou.

"Amazing!" Lou seconded. "The landscaping and everything is just so…" and then I trailed them out because, come on, it just wasn't a conversation that I found terribly interesting. I kind of thought that Lou and Adam wouldn't much mind—or notice—if I left but there wasn't anywhere for me to go so that option was completely out. I mean, I suppose I could just sit by the fire alone… like a loser… no.

"… don't you think so, Amy? Amy?"

I cleared my throat and sat up straighter at the sound of my name. Adam and Lou were both watching me expectantly and it didn't take long to piece together that I had been asked a question and they were waiting for an answer.

"Um, I…" I started to stuttered but stopped as headlights flooded briefly over the picnic area. I looked up and saw a black pickup pulling into the farm and driving along the path to park by the side of the barn. "Who's that?" I asked to save myself from my impending doom… or humiliation at the very least.

Adam slouched over. "He's back," he said gloomily. "I wonder what happened; he never comes back this early at night." I didn't know who he was talking about but it was obvious that Adam wasn't very fond of whoever it was.

"Who's h—" I started but stopped as Rick's deep, booming voice called through the still night.

"Ty! Come on over!" Oh, of course.

I saw the figure that had gotten out of the car freeze in its tracks. The figure—Ty, I guess it was—was dark in the shadows. Rick called again and Ty slouched over to his uncle.

"Yes?" he asked in a clearly annoyed voice.

Rick chortled—some_body_ had had a few too many beers. "Stay around for awhile. Have some food, eat, socialize, enjoy!"

"I'm busy," Ty said in monosyllables.

"How busy can you be?" Rick didn't wait for an answer—not that I thought Ty was going to supply one—and continued on, "Look," he pointed over to our table. "There's Adam, go and talk."

"I'd rather eat shi—"

"Ty," Kara jumped in quickly. "Come now, you know we don't talk like that here."

"How could I have forgotten?" Ty responded in a sarcastic voice.

"Get yourself something to eat," Kara said instead of replying to Ty's 'question'. "You're starting to look a little skinny. How would your mom and dad feel about that, now? If they thought we weren't feeding our nephew!"

Kara stopped abruptly as though she suddenly realized she had said the wrong the thing.

"Well," Ty began and I could tell that the longest answer I'd ever heard him give was coming on, "considering that my mother and father don't give a shit about what happens to me and the fact that I've already eaten _and_ that I have things to do… I'm leaving." And then Ty turned and walked away again, disappearing into the shadows that surrounded the barn.

"Is he always like that?" Lou whispered to Adam.

"Yes," Adam snorted. Adam didn't seem to like talking about Ty too much and so he decided to change the topic. "Hey, do you guys want to go and see the horses?" he offered.

"Of course," Lou responded with a smile. They both looked at me.

"Sure," I shrugged.

We got up and walked, unnoticed by the rest of the group, to the round pens. I followed Lou who appeared to be following Adam's lead and we stopped in front of that smallest round pen with the two horses—Blue and Red.

Both horses munched contentedly on their hay and just looked generally peaceful in the calm night.

"They're such beautiful horses," Lou said, leaning against the fence and stroking Blue's dark muzzle.

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "It's a shame they're owned by a stoner though," he said in what almost seemed to be regret.

"Is he really a stoner?" Lou asked next and I listened on casually.

"Well," Adam began, "I've never seen him doing anything but I've seen the guys he hangs out with and… well, it's one of those things that you're pretty safe to assume."

"So I take it that the two of you don't get on so well," Lou said rather sympathetically as she leaned towards Adam a little bit.

"He's not a pleasant person. I've heard that he had a pretty rough home life and was sent here when he was fourteen because he kept getting in trouble—you know drugs and stuff like that."

"So how old is he now?" Lou asked.

"Eighteen, nineteen, something like that."

I didn't even bother to say that Adam had already told us this yesterday… well, besides the age part, I mean.

"So how—"

"I thought I told you to leave these horse alone," a low and dark voice said from somewhere behind us.

I spun around in surprise and saw Ty standing there with his arms crossed across his chest. His dark hair fell across his eyes but I could feel the intense emotions in his eyes as they swept over us. I noticed that he was, rather surprisingly, holding a large, dark leather and worn looking Western saddle in his arms.

"I was just showing these two ladies you horses," Adam stepped forwards and responded bravely—clearly it was in an attempt to impress Lou… and I think it was working.

"I don't care if you've got the damned Pope with you," Ty said, not even gracing me and Lou with a glance. "I told you not to touch them." He walked forwards and dumped the saddle and the rest of the tack in a pile on the ground near the round pen.

"Way to treat the tack," Adam smirked.

Ty picked up the tack with a glare and shoved it on the fence. "There," he said, "is that more pleasing to you, your Highness?"

Adam's smirk disappeared. "Hey," he said, "I've got two of the guests at this place with me. Don't you think you could be polite for even two seconds?"

"If I even gave a damn about this place then maybe," Ty said as he climbed over the fence skillfully and dropped into the round pen. Red and Blue only flicked their ears at his appearance and turned towards him a little.

"Why don't you get lost now?" Ty said. "And stay away from my horses. This is the last time I'm going to tell you," he warned.

Adam chuckled, albeit a bit nervously it was still a chuckle. "Or you'll what, Ty? What can you possibly do to me?"

Adam's question was met with silence. Adam laughed uneasily but stopped after a few moments. I could think of a few things off of the top of my head that I'm sure this guy could do to Adam. Ty was a fair few inches taller then Adam and he had broader shoulders and looked all around more fit. Not that Adam wasn't fit…

"You'd think you'd understand simple English, wouldn't you, Boswell? What, with that fancy ass college you go to. Stay away from my horses. It's as simple as that."

Adam couldn't think of a smart reply quick enough so he stomped away. Well, he didn't _stomp_ per say… but it was pretty well close to it.

Lou followed him and I walked after her with a quick glance back. I caught the look on Ty's face before he turned to his horses and I thought that he took pleasure in what he did to Adam.

Adam pointed out some of the other horses to us and no one said anything else about Ty. Finally, we decided that we ought to head back to our cabin. Lou said bye to Adam and then walked by my side back to our cabin. I glanced at the smallest round pen once and neither Ty nor the two horses were there. I looked around but the night was dark and silent.

Lou chatted about Adam and how great he was as we walked but I didn't really pay any attention to her. I'd heard her talk about enough guys to get the gist of it without _actually_ having to listen.

When we got back, mom 'casually' announced what we were doing the next day/night.

We were going to the rodeo.

**A/n**: yeah, so it's short and horrible but it will get better in the next chapter because this chapter and the previous one are only fillers! Review! -Steph


	6. The Rodeo

**Authors Note**

Sorry for being so long. Finals are over though so all is good. My computer's totally died this time and I had a bunch of chapters started and I no longer have them but I'll try to get a couple up this week and next. Enjoy the chapter!

Review!

-Steph

**RODEO STONER**

**Chapter 5: The Rodeo**

_Thursday_

I'm not a terribly big fan of rodeos, but it seems that they are practically mandatory when you're out west. And it wasn't like I hadn't tried to get out of it… because I did. But mom and dad wouldn't hear of it.

Lou was sitting next to me in a fresh-out-of-the-box cowboy hat, trying to look like she fit in, but I don't know how many real cowboys (or cow_girls_) she thought wore pink hats... we could only be thankful that she opted out of getting the one with the tacky rhinestones on the brim. Mom and Abbey had gone to get popcorn and dad was fiddling around with the settings on his camera. And me? Well I found myself sitting in the way too crowded bleachers, listening to 'Life is a Highway' shake through and vibrate the metal bleachers, and squinting through the seven o'clock setting sun. Oh, I know, it's my idea of a good time too.

Mom and Abbey returned shortly and mom gave me the at-least-_try_-and-look-like-you're-having-a-fun-time look. I crossed my arms over my stomach with a huff and slouched over. Western tradition or _not_, rodeos didn't seem to be on the same page as me regarding animals rights and I'd be damned if I was going to have _that_ kind of fun. I had no problem with the barrel racing or anything but the calf tying? Not really. And the bronco or bull riding wasn't my favorite but, as far as I knew, they didn't deliberately frighten the animals. But if they did, I'd have a blast of a time throwing them off my back as well. Power to the animals.

In the middle of the way too elaborate—at least in my opinion—entrance ceremony—yes, complete with scantily dressed woman on horseback—that Lou jumped to her feet and jostled my head from its resting place in my hand.

"Adam!"

I blinked once, and then groaned. Did that guy have to be _every_where we were? My answer was, apparently, a yes since I looked up and saw Adam waving enthusiastically back to Lou. Adam bounded up the riser stairs and took a seat in row behind us. Two rather nerdy looking guys in flannel and wide brimmed hats followed behind Adam a bit slower.

"Hey," Adam said to Lou, leaning forwards. "I didn't know you guys were going to be here tonight."

"We wouldn't have missed it," Lou said back, with a flutter of her eyelashes. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, I like your hat," Adam said and he tapped a finger against the pink _brim_.

Lou giggled. "I had to try and look like I fit in," she said.

This was just getting disgusting. Or so I thought. Adam eyed Lou up and down and, with a grin, said, "Lookin' good." Correction, _now_ it was disgusting.

"So, Tim," Adam turned to address my watchful father. "Did you enjoy Yellowstone today?"

"It was great," dad said.

"Yeah!" Abbey leaned over dad, looking excited with her waving pigtails. "We saw a… we saw a mommy mouse and a baby mouse! Together!!"

"Awesome," Adam said in what I'm afraid he thought was a good children's voice. "Maybe you'll see a bear tomorrow." Abbey's little mouth formed into in awed 'o' and her eyes opened wide. Abbey was quickly distracted from Adam's absolutely _enthralling_—note my 'subtle' sarcasm—tales of his Yellowstone adventures, and turned to watch "the pretty horsies" once more.

"So, Adam," dad said. "You ever entered in one of these rodeos?"

I turned away to cover a laugh. Lou shot a brief glare in my direction and I coughed once and scratched the back of my neck. I turned back to hear Adam's reply, lightly drumming my fingers against my lips in an attempt to mask my smile.

"No sir," Adam said, his eyes flickering to me briefly. I smiled at him and his eyes shifted back to dad. "I'm not really the rodeo type—" I caught dad's eyes over Adam's head and was rewarded with a small shake of the head and a look of mirth shinning in his gray eyes. He looked back at Adam before Adam looked away from Lou and appeared to be paying attention. "—but I've been here a few times this summer. The Cody Stampede is one of the best rodeos, or so I hear. Rick and Kara were supposed to come tonight but something popped up back at the ranch at the last minute so they gave their tickets to me and my buddies Frank and Dave," he gestured to the two guys sitting next to him.

"That was kind of them," Lou said.

"Yeah," Adam said. "Rick and Kara really are great. It's a shame that _some_ people don't show them the respect they deserve."

"Hmm," I said before Lou could speak. Deliberately refusing to take the bait Adam was laying, as I knew Lou was about to, I said, "So what are your favorite rodeo events?" I let out a couple of 'hmms' as Adam launched into his answer and analysis of the different events to look like I was paying attentions. I really didn't care so I turned back to the arena and vaguely watched the proceedings of the single calf roping division. It was one horseback rider and a calf… I'm still not exactly sure what the objective was to do… I'm thinking it was something along the lines of vaulting off of a galloping horse and tackling a calf to the ground… or, well, that's what it looked like anyway. Me, personally? Well I was routing for the calves.

I was still watching halfheartedly, and tuning out the conversation still going on between Adam, dad and Lou, when I saw a flash of color by the starting gate-thing. I lifted my head and looked closer. It was a big, blue roan horse, it's coat gleaming in the setting sun muscles rippling through the sheen. Even out here, blue roans were a minority and I'd never seen one that color. It really was almost blue when the sun hit it. The horse lifted it's magnificent head to the wind with pricked ears and it's jet black mane lifted in the wind.

I craned forwards in my seat to get a look at the roans mysterious rider and almost toppled over onto the middle-aged, beer bellied guy in front of me, who was, believe it or not, sipping from a plastic cup of frothing beer.

Instead, I opted for the safer method and stared a hole in the guys back. All I could tell was the following: he had wide shoulders, dark hair brushing the bottom of his neck and was wearing a black, short sleeved button-down shirt with light grey plaid and dark jeans. He wasn't wearing a cowboy hat, a bandana, cowboy boots or any sort of leather but… that didn't mean anything. Not necessarily. I'm sure that plenty of people didn't wear... and did wear… oh my. And I'm sure that Cody is just _bursting_ with people who have wilted roses tattooed up their arms.

It just couldn't possibly be… I mean, _no way_.

But then the guy dug his heels into his horses sides and the horse performed an jaw dropingly tight and speedy circle. I gasped as the sinking sun lit up the guy and his horse. There really was no mistaking _that_ face.

I watched with, I'm afraid, an open mouth, as the horse and rider—who _will_ remain nameless because _that_ is just _not_ possible on _any_ accounts—trotted to the starting-gate. The horse floated on the ground and the guy barely moved in the big, worn western saddle.

I looked around to see if anyone else was seeing what I was but dad and Lou were still engaged in conversation with Adam and Abbey was occupying mom by telling some sort of story around the popcorn that her little hands were shoving in her mouth. So much for actually _watching_ the rodeo…

"And our final entrant in the group is a rookie we've seen a handful of times here this summer. He's been showing some talent but has yet to turn out a real sold, consistent round. Let's all welcome—"

I was literally—literally—hanging off the edge of my seat waiting for the announcer to say the guys name when an earsplitting screech arouse from my right. I must have jumped a good foot in the air.

"What the hell, Lou?" I gasped, clasping a hand over my racing heart.

Lou's bright blue eyes narrowed at me and she shrugged. "A bug flew in my face," was her answer. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the arena only to see the roan horse and (still nameless) rider trotting out of the arena. Damn event that took barely seven seconds to finish.

"And a disappointing round for entrant 115, called Ty for short," the announcer chuckled gravely at his joke but I just gaped at the departing horse and rider. "Since Ty failed to complete the task, he will not pick up any points this time around. And that concludes the singles calf roping for tonight and we congratulate—"

My eyes were still fastened on the disappearing backs of the roan horse and… Ty. Was there really any possible, miniscule chance that that guy could have been the same Ty that I'd only seen stomping around the ranch with a rather emo outtake on things?

Well, I straightened in my seat and rubbed my hands against my jean clad thighs. There was only one way I could find out. I quickly stood up and gave mom and dad a vague excuse about needing to use the bathroom before I was jumping, or tripping, down the slick stairs and dodging people as I flew down the ramp that led up to the stands.

I'd always said that if you wanted to know something, you should go out and find it out yourself… rather then relying on announcers to keep the volume on their microphones loud enough and elder sisters to restrain their screeches. Because that just didn't seem to be working out for me at the moment.

**--------**

_Annnnd_… cue the James Bond music… now.

I wondered fleetingly if anyone actually abided by the sign that said "Only trailers and competitors beyond this point" as I dodged casually around the chain that held that sign. Considering that no one really had a reason to mosey around behind the scenes if they didn't actually have to… I'm guessing that that's a no. The only people back by the trailers were cowboys and cowgirls who were taking care of their horses. Except for the pack of kids that was playing "wild horsies" I had to jump out of the way for or take the risk of being flattened by sever-year-olds in cowboy boots who thought they were wild mustangs named Spirit.

As I surveyed the barren stretch of dry desert that was crowded with trucks, trailers, horses and cow-people, I wondered just how I was supposed to go about finding _one_ person. All I knew was that the guy I thought I was looking for drove a black pickup. Yep, because there weren't many of _those_ around—again, note the sarcasm.

As I strolled through the lines of trailers, I realized I really did not fit in at all. In fact, I stuck out like a sore thumb in my clean jeans, blue tee-shirt and sneakers. I _was_ the needle in the haystack, if you will… except… yeah, just ignore that, it didn't make much sense. Well, it does if you switch around the traditional meaning of—

"Oh… dear. Sorry, carry on," I spoke hurriedly and jumped away from the couple that was doing some pretty dirty things behind one of the trailers. I practically ran away, vowing that never again would I actually look behind one of the trailers that was parked just far enough away from all the other trailers that any other person would totally get was meant to be left alone. I shook my head wildly, silently berating myself for being so naïve and stupid and, at the same time, trying to clear the image from my mind. For gods sake, they hadn't even noticed me! What kind of people _do_ that in public? Couldn't they have posted a sign or some—

"Hey! Watch it!" a male's raised voice alerted me that I had stumbled once again upon something that I shouldn't have.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," I apologized in a hurry, trying to decided if I should look at the person that I had interrupted or run away. I was leaning towards the latter option when a scuffed and thoroughly worn in Converse appeared in my line of vision, which was still focused resolutely on the dusty ground. I looked up without thinking and gasped. It really _was_ him. Anyone that could forget that dark hair and chisel face and those emerald green eyes… and that chest… and that _fine_—

"It's _you_!" I snapped back to reality and snapped my mouth shut. His emerald eyes were blazing and his chest visibly moved up and down beneath his fitted shirt. One hand held a battered black lead rope against his thigh. His face didn't look like it could decided whether or not to be surprised at seeing me there of all places and of all people and anger.

"Umm," I froze. I hadn't actually thought about what was going to happen if I had found him. What do people say in these sorts of situations anyway? I assessed my options rapidly and decided that I had two pretty basic ones: I could take a pointer from Lou and flirt myself silly with him or I could… run away. Again, I was leaning just a _smidge_ towards the running away one.

"Hello?" the black lead rope flapped through the air a few feet in front of my face and I took several hurried steps backwards.

"Um, right, sorry," I said quickly still backing up. Ty stayed where he was, looking just flat out annoyed at the moment. "I didn't mean… I just wanted… to see… if… I'm not… I wasn't… I mean I… right, bye."

And then I did the only thing I could, I turned around and fled the scene only to… only to run smack into a hard chest a couple meters away. I jumped once more and, already mumbling hasty apologies, looked up to see who I had run into this time around. For a moment, all I could see were dark, hauntingly familiar emerald eyes.

I froze and stared for a moment. I looked slowly over my shoulder, wondering if I had just met Superman or Clark Kent or something because this was just weird. Except that Ty was still standing there, the lead rope dangling from his hands… only now he look livid and his hands were clenched into fists. I looked back at the guy I'd run into and noticed that he was a fair deal bigger and dressed in a suit that looked very out of place. This man, though he shared some of Ty's features was clearly not Ty. He was with a tall, slender woman and a boy about my age that looked utterly bored and loathed to be where he was.

Once again, for possibly the fifth time in ten minutes, I assessed my options. "Umm right, sorry… I didn't mean it… and… I'm going… now." And then I ran. What else is a girl to do?

**--------**

I returned my seat admits my family out of breath and most likely red in the face. Mom and dad were engaged in conversation with a couple sitting in front of us. I think they were discussing the Grand Tetons, the place where we were going next.

"Are you alright?" Lou looked at me questionably.

"Um, yeah," I said quickly, ignoring the looks I was getting from her and Adam. "There was just a, uh, long wait at the restrooms and I really didn't want to miss the… uh…" I looked quickly towards the arena in time to see coarse ropes snake and pull taught around a calves neck and hind legs. I winced as the calf hopped limply between the two horses and riders. "The, um, roping… thingy."

**a/n:** once again, I'm SO sorry for the wait but I'm going to get some stuff up this week! TUP and WP tomorrow maybe. I think I just had to get over some writers block but I really wanted to write and I enjoyed writing this so… I hope you guys liked it! Sorry if it wasn't worth the wait or what you were expecting but I'm going to start updating things again!! Leave a REVIEW to tell me what you think!! Thanks for reading!! –Steph

P.S. **GO REAL MADRID!! CHAMPIONS OF SPAIN… AGAIN!!** And, Sergio, I'm in Spain with you in spirit… why can't YOU come to the U.S. _instead_ of Beckham?? WHY????


	7. Ranch family Fiasco

**Authors Note**

I would have liked more reviews for the last chapter—because I loved it—but oh well. I am updating because this story is fun. RS Amy is tied for my favorite Amy with WS Amy… and now LR Amy. She's wacky and quirky in a cute kind of way. And Ty's so funny as well. Because Amy can torture him without even meaning to. And because Ty just gets so adorably confused and frustrated. But mainly because everyone loves a Bad Boy Ty. Me more then anyone. Yay.

I absolutely adore reviews,

Steph Malfoy

**Disclaimer:** did Ty have tattoos in Lauren Brooke's Heartland? Did he wear tight pants? There ya go.

**RODEO STONER**

**Chapter 6: ****Ranch Family Fiasco **

AMYPOV

_Thursday_

"So girls, was the rodeo a good option?" Mom peered back at us from the passenger seat.

Abbey bounced up and down in her seat, jabbing me in the side with her bony little elbows. I wasn't sure how she was still awake, but she was. Alive and kicking. Quite literally. "Yeah!"

Mom smiled. "And you, Lou?"

"It was great," she said sincerely.

"Yeah," I said under my breath, "only because Adam was there."

"Problem, Amy?" mom rose her eyebrows at me.

I smiled tersely. "No. None at all."

"That's what I thought," mom said knowingly. "And how did _you_ enjoy the night?"

"I got a real big kick out of the whole calf tying thing," I said sarcastically. "Because that didn't look like it hurt _at all_."

"I'm glad to see everyone's in a good mood," dad said brightly from the front seat.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Abbey asked, oblivious to what had just passed.

"Yellowstone again, sweetie. We still have so much we haven't seen," mom said.

"Can we see a bear tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

"Adam saw one," she pointed out.

I slumped against the window, very ready to be back in our little cabin. It had been a long night. A long, very confusing night. If I wasn't so sure that I'd seen him with my own eyes, I would have convinced myself that it was a dream. Or that I was hallucinating. Who knew? I mean, seriously. I may only have met the guy sporadically, and never very pleasantly, over the last few days, but I thought I had been right in pegging him as a total non-cowboy. And then the rodeo fiasco happened and… and he wasn't even wearing a cowboy hat! He was like the ultimate anti-cowboy… so what was he doing at a rodeo? Rodeos were a cowboy heaven.

And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that I'd made a total fool out of myself. I don't think I've ever stuttered quite so much. Or run away. From a guy. _One_ guy. Granted, he was a very mad guy holding a lead rope but… I'm not usually one to run away. He must think I'm… well, I don't actually care what he thinks. I really didn't. There was absolutely no reason as to why I should either. He was so… so… so… he was just so _not my type_. So it's really a good thing I didn't care. Because I didn't care. At all.

I _was_ curious though. About the people that had arrived as I'd left, for one. Like whom they were. Not that it mattered, really. I'd probably never see them again. They had probably just got lost. Just because Ty looked pissed didn't mean anything. I'd come to realize that that was pretty common expression for him.

Back in the cabin, I chose to forgo a shower. I'd take one in the morning when no one else was up. I would be taking no part in the Shower Wars tonight. But, by all means, everyone else was free to squabble over the oddly, slim, rectangular bathroom. But I still had to brush my teeth so I was stuck in last place all the same.

I lounged on my twin bed, staring up at the ceiling. Abbey was already sleeping in her bed by the window. Lou was rummaging through her suitcase on the floor, waiting for her turn in the bathroom. Mom was still in. I had a long wait to go.

Forty-five minutes later I was still lying in bed, except now I was staring up at the dark ceiling. Abbey was still fast asleep and I was pretty sure Lou was too. In the next room, mom and dad were sleeping as well. As far as I knew, it was only me up. I knew I should be sleeping, but I wasn't even tired. Even though I knew we'd be up early again tomorrow. I felt like there were so many better things to do in Colorado then spend every day in Yellowstone. It was cool and all, but there was only so much national park experience I could take per day. My problem was that I just didn't know what else there was to do.

A sudden idea struck me and I sat up in my bed. At home, whenever I couldn't sleep, I go outside to see the horses for a while. Why couldn't I do the same here? Of course, getting out would be substantially more challenging here then it was at home. I looked at the window; I could probably fit through it. My hopes were dashed when I remembered Abbey was sleeping right under it. The front door was definitely out since mom and dad were right there. The bathroom window would have to do.

I got quietly out of bed and pulled a Heartland sweatshirt on over my head and picked my flip-flops up. I tiptoed in the bathroom and quietly closed the door. I eyed the window, wondering just how this was supposed to work. I carefully dulled up the blinds and then unlocked the window. I had to force the window up and it opened with an ominous creak. I froze and listened. All I heard were the crickets and bugs outside. I breathed a sigh of relief. I threw my sandals out before carefully maneuvering myself through the window. I sucked in my stomach to fit through and dropped silently down to the ground below. I hissed as I landed on a rock and hoped over to my shoes. I carefully shut the window all the way, leaving just a crack at the bottom so I could get back in.

I ran silently down the little path behind the cabins, going through a little grove of trees. I hopped easily over a little stream and continued running. I stopped as I came to the edge of the trees. The coral and barn were just in front of me, across the road. I looked around carefully, not sure if I'd get shot for being down here at night, before walking swiftly to the coral. A couple of the horses moved towards me and I stroked their silky muzzles, breathing in the scent of horse. I instantly felt better.

There was a slamming door and a crash in the back of the barn and I must have jumped a mile in the ear. My scream was muffled into a small squeak through my fear. I put a hand over my heart to still its racing when I heard raised voice coming towards me. I looked around, like a dear frozen in the headlights, before darting in through the open doors of the barn. I ducked down behind a feed box.

I leaned back against a stack of hay and settled down to wait.

---

---

---

TYPOV

I stalked out of my rooms behind the barn and went to my truck, which was still rigged up to the trailer. I swung open the door on the side of trailer and jumped in. I picked up my saddle before exciting.

"Ty, come on. Just talk to us. That's all we want."

I slammed the door shut with more force than necessary. My mother flinched at the loud noise. My father and Lee were behind her now.

"No," I said, walking away.

"We're your family, Ty," my father's deep, know-it-all voice carried after me, "you can't run from us forever."

I tossed the saddle against the side of the barn and swung around. "Really? Is that what you call this?" I waved a hand between us. "A family? Because that's not what _I_ think of this."

My mother stepped towards me. I stepped back. She sighed and hitched her purse higher up on her shoulder. "Of _course_ we're a family, Ty."

"Really?" I said in disbelief. "Because I kind of got the impression that we weren't. You know, when you sent me here."

"That was for your own good, Ty," my father said roughly. "You were falling in with the wrong people, the wrong crowd. You were developing habits that would have only caused you trouble."

I rolled my eyes. "And so you sent me away. All the way across the country. What were you trying to do, _hide_ your own son?" I grinned.

"We weren't—"

"Yes, you were," I interrupted. "You were scared of what I would do to your reputations. You didn't want people to know about me. So you sent me away. Now, I may be wrong, but that's usually not what a family does. What kind of a family do you have when you're hiding one of its so called 'members'?"

"Coming here was best for you," my mother tried again.

I laughed darkly. "Best for whom exactly? Me? Because I think it was for you."

"Small town life should have helped you," my mother pleaded. I switched my weight from foot to foot as I waited for her to finish. "City life isn't good for some people. Everything's much more open and fresh in a small town. Especially out here," she waved her arms around.

"You can't change who I am by sending me to the _desert_," I said wryly. "Changing my location isn't going to change me. But you all did a great job of running from it. This is the… what? The first time you've even considered visiting in four years?" I raised my eyebrows.

"We wanted to let you settle in," my mother said.

"Since when does it take four years to settle in?" I snapped back sharply. "Why can't you people just admit it? You were ashamed of me. Ashamed that _I_ was your son."

"That's not true," my mother claimed, her voice rising now. "We could never be ashamed of our son."

"But as a _brother_, on the other hand, _I _certainly was," Lee spoke up now. I turned my glare on him and he met it with one of his own. "You couldn't be normal, could you? No. I got to say my brother was a stoner, and now a school dropout. Oh yeah, people just _love_ that."

My anger boiled in my veins. "And that's exactly my point right there. None of you really ever cared about me. You care about what people think of me and how that will affect you."

Lee snickered and joyously said, "What's next, _Ty_? A gang?"

I finally swung on him. "And _you_ had better shut the hell up," I spat in his face. "Or maybe I could shut you up myself. I've learned a few things in the last four years."

My father pushed my away from Lee roughly as I raised my arm and I stumbled back a few steps. "Don't you ever threaten your brother!" he roared at me. Lee straightened up and I glared at him over my father's shoulder. Lee grinned. "You had better start showing some respect, boy, or so help me God—"

"What are you going to do to me?" I laughed in his face. "Send me somewhere else? Do we have a relative in Arkansas I don't know about? Well guess what," now my voice matched his, "you can't do anything to me anymore. I'm an adult and it's my life to control now. Not yours. So now you can just get in your fucking car and drive the hell away."

"Tyler Baldwin!" my father barked.

I took a step closer to him. "This is _my_ home now," I said, jabbing a finger at my chest, "and I'm _politely asking _you to leave. _Now_," I said when they didn't move.

My mother stepped between us. "If we could all just calm down then maybe we could have a reasonable discussion together," she suggested in a shaking, falsely calm voice. "Now, Ty—"

I threw my arms up in the air. "I can't believe this. I can't believe _you people_. I'm finished here."

I heard their footsteps following me.

"You can't run away from your family, Ty!" my mother screeched behind me. I froze in my footsteps and clenched my hands into fists by my sides. "Your family is the people that love and care for you the most in the world. You can't reject us like this."

I turned around slowly. My father put his arm around my mother's shoulders. "If this is what the people that are supposed to care about me most are, then I don't need them."

"You disappoint us, Ty," my father said stiffly.

"Good. Then I've done something right in my life."

I continued on my way over to Blue and Red, my blood still boiling. I leaned against their small coral as I heard car doors slamming and an engine starting. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down. Blue and Red were watching me curiously and I stared back at them. I quickly scaled the fence and hoped into the coral with them. I leaned my head on Red's muscular neck and Blue came up behind me and put his great head on my shoulder, snuffling at the back of my hair. I sighed. The urge to hit something slowly faded away.

I only looked up when I heard gravel crunching. Someone was running down the driveway, back to the cabins. I had it in my mind to find out just who it was but I stopped before I was over the coral. I jumped back down and leaned against the wood. Blue and Red came up to me again and I placed a hand on each of their muzzles. I sighed and tilted my head forwards, my dark hair falling across my eyes when I looked back up them.

"Ain't life grand?"

The two answering snorts were all I needed as an answer.

---

---

---

AMYPOV

_Friday _

"Where the hell were you last night?" Lou hissed into my ear as she pulled me farther away from mom and dad.

I shook her off of my arm. "Nowhere," I said and continued following mom, dad and Abbey up to the farmhouse for breakfast.

"Don't give me that, Amy," Lou said in a low voice. "I _watched_ you get up and the bathroom window was open."

I sighed. "I went out," I said begrudgingly.

Lou rolled her eyes. "Yes, I kind of gathered that much. I should rephrase my question. Where did you go?"

"Nowhere, okay?" I hissed back. Lou looked at me skeptically. "I just went to see the horses for a couple minutes. I couldn't sleep. I didn't do anything illegal."

"Well let's try keeping the midnight romps to a minimum, shall we?" she said as she pushed me in through the front door to the farmhouse. I gave her a look before grabbing a glazed doughnut from the buffet table and dropping into a chair at the nearest tables.

Sulkily, I tore off a small bite and popped it into my mouth. I chewed it slowly and thoughtfully as I looked around the room. There was only one other family seated at the tables besides Rick and Cara at the head table with the baby. However, today there were three other people sitting with them. A smartly dressed man and woman who looked like they had absolutely no business on a dusty ranch, and a teenager. The man looked briefly at me and I choked on my bite of doughnut. I could recognize those eyes anywhere. It was the man I'd run into while fleeing Ty at the rodeo the day before. I ducked my head down and hid behind a curtain of my hair.

I ate through my doughnut very fast then, desperate to get out of the farmhouse before he recognized me. This day was definitely not off to a good start. It wasn't enough that I was already trying to forget about the fight I had unwillingly heard between Ty and his family—who they were, I still didn't know. But the fight had seemed pretty bad. At least no one had seen me.

I couldn't imagine fighting like that with my parents, or with my sisters. Of course we fought sometimes but never like that. I couldn't even begin to picture it so it was shocking to hear such things being said to a family member.

The rest of my family joined me at the table I had selected and went their ways eating and chatting happily about the day ahead. Abbey, of course, was still convinced that we would see a bear. No one had the heart to tell her that maybe we wouldn't. I just watched them quietly for a few moments, tearing my napkin apart in strips in my lap. My family was acting no different this morning then they did every morning. But this morning I looked at them differently, taking in their actions and their kind words in a different way.

My reverie was broken by Rick's booming voice. "So did you guys ever catch up with Ty last night?"

There was a small pause. I glanced up in time to see the woman at the table give a tight smile and respond, "We found him."

Cara smiled at them as she bounced the baby on her lap. "Oh, that's good. We're so glad you've finally been able to make it out to visit. You've come at a good time; Ty's been doing so much better recently. He still has his moments of course, but he's really being doing better."

Rick slapped the table in a good natured way. "It's those horses of his," he said laughing, not noticing the stony faced couple he was speaking to. "I've always said that horses can do a wonder to kids."

Cara seemed to pick up on the terse couple at the table first. "He was alright, wasn't he?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, of course he was. It's just sometimes he disappears for a couple of hours and sometimes isn't so happy when he comes back."

"Where does he go?" the woman asked quickly.

Cara shrugged. "I don't know. He's an adult, I can't follow him around."

"Yes, yes of course," the woman said quickly with a wave of her hand."

Cara still looked worried. "But he was alright with you guys, wasn't he?" The answering silence made her nervous. "Oh please God, tell me he _was_ okay."

The woman attempted to laugh. "He was Ty. Ty will be Ty no matter what," she tried to joke it off. "We're hoping to catch him again this morning so we can talk while everyone's calmer."

"Good," Cara seemed distracted. "That boy should know better…"

"Drugs screw with your head," the teenage boy said around a giant grin.

"Lee," the woman said softly but that was all. Then the dining room was silent once more.

I felt so stupid. I could have slapped myself. Of _course_ those people were Ty's family. Now it all made sense. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it sooner. The _eyes_ for one…

Suddenly I was out of my chair.

"Where are you going, Amy?" mom looked up at me, startled at my sudden movement.

"Uh," I stammered, that was a very good question. "Back down to the cabin, I want to make sure that I… uh… that I… erm, that I remembered to charge my iPod last night," I finally managed, rather unsurely.

Mom looked skeptical. "Well alright then…"

"Great," I said and was quickly out the door. I dashed down the hill, my eyes on the ground. All I knew was that I had to get out of that dining room before Ty's parents recognized me and said something that would inevitably incriminate me with my parents. My thoughts were so wrapped up that I didn't realize I was running straight towards someone until it was too late. I ran into a solid chest—one that I seemed to be getting very well acquainted with, if the last few days were any indication _at all_.

"Hey! Watch it!"

I jumped back, startled. I stumbled over a rock and started to fall. Two arms caught me before I was sitting in the dirt, however, and righted me back to my feet. I was blushing like mad. My face when deadly pale when I caught sight of the scuffed Converse and frayed jeans in my line of vision. I froze like a rabbit before jumping back again, my face once more burning. I started to fall again, thanks to my clumsy footwork and was once more caught.

"Whoa," this time his hands stayed on my shoulders. "Are you alright?"

I hesitatingly peeked up at him. I was so ready to see the anger behind those emerald eyes that I may have—or may not have—squeaked softly in surprise. Now they just looked amused… and slightly confused. Like he was wondering just who the heck the crazy girl who kept running into him and then falling was.

"Sorry," I groaned. I reached up a hand to crush some of the hair out of my eyes and my hand banged into his arms, knocking it off of my shoulder. I groaned and he let them both fall away. "Sorry… again."

He clasped his hands behind his back. "Maybe you should consider not running around with your eyes closed," he suggested. I winced, but not from the tone of his voice, from my own embarrassment, which was basically skyrocketing at that particular moment. "You know, just for future reference."

"Uh, yeah," I said, edging around him slowly. "That would probably be a good idea. I'm just going to… you know, go now…" I said as I began to _walk_ away. And no, I didn't run. I wanted to, but I didn't… alright, so it was more of a fast walk but it was still a walk.

"I think I've seen more of your retreating back in the last twenty-four hours than anything else," he called out behind me.

I froze and slowly turned around. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"Well," he said, walking closer to me in a very casual hands in the pockets I-could-kill-you-right-now-really-fast-I'm-so-casual type of way. I gulped and back up slowly. He stopped walking towards me. "There was last night…" he frowned. "_Both_ times."

I snapped my eyes up to his face. "Uh, both… times?" I said slowly.

"Yes," he said firmly. "_Both_ times."

I gulped. Uh-oh. I guess that meant that someone had seen me fleeing the scene of the crime after all.

Still lost in thought, I hardly noticed when he spun around and continued on his way up to the farmhouse. Once his action did register in my thought process, however, I yelled out, quite as unexpected to me as it was to him… if not more. "You might not want to go up there."

He turned around to face me and I clamped my mouth shut in horror at what I had just said.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"Er…" I trailed off. "You might not want to go into the house," I said again in a rush.

He took a step closer to me again. "And just _why_ would I not want to do that?"

"Well…" I said slowly. I weighed my options. Option one was to tell him his parents were there, which would further seal my fate as a witness of last night's arguments. Option two was to… run. And running didn't seem to be getting me too far these days. Either way, I rationalized I would come up looking like an idiot in the end. Again. I took a deep breath and plunged in. "Your, er, your parents are up there and they were… you know, uh… um, talking… about… you…" I got slower at the end of my sentence as I watched a dark cloud pass over his face. And we were back to the expression I'd come to expect.

"Well then," he said, walking briskly back towards me. "I'm sure the horses can spare some of their hay to me."

I'm not sure what made me do it. It might have been because I felt bad for him. Or it might have been because I was thankful for him for not bringing up the subject of _last night_. Or, you know, it might just have been because I'm an idiot. An idiot who really needs to start thinking before she blurts things out.

"I could get you something." He turned and looked at me questioningly. "Uh… a doughnut… or something… maybe."

His gaze was appraising as he stared at me. When he finally answered, it was like he had to force the word out. "Fine."

I was so shocked—at both my words and at his—that I just stood there, staring at him stupidly for another couple of seconds. "Right!" I said and whirled around and raced back up to the farmhouse. I could have sworn I heard him laughing behind me. I frowned. But hey, I would so be laughing at me too… if I wasn't me.

I think I swung the screen door to the house open with a bit more gusto then actually necessary because everyone stared at me as I jumped in. I froze and my face heated up. "I just… need another doughnut… apparently… I guess…" I mumbled incoherent phrases as I snatched up another doughnut and bolted for the door, leaving my spectators in a stunned silence.

I rushed back down the pathway. I stopped and looked around. I frowned when I didn't see Ty. I looked at the doughnut in my hand. Had I just hallucinated the whole thing? But the doughnut was real enough in my hand.

"That's not chocolate, is it?" a voice said from behind me said. I jumped about a mile up in the air before turning around. Sure enough, there Ty was, watching me with an amused expression on his… on his perfect face. "You ran right by me," he said as he sauntered up to me.

"Oh… sorry," I mumbled out again.

"That's not chocolate, is it?" he repeated, gesturing to the doughnut in my hands.

I looked down at it. "Uh… no… oh! Right, sorry… here you go." I handed it to him.

He eyed me before taking the doughnut from my outstretched hands. "Thanks." He looked down at it. "And it's not chocolate. Good. Chocolate doughnuts are gross. And sweet things are not good in the morning."

"Yeah," I said, not really agreeing with him—though, in theory, I totally did.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked me eventually.

"Uh… Amy," I said.

"Hmmm," he said with a nod and started to walk back down the hill. I followed him, but only because that was the way I was going as well.

**a/n**phew. Sucky ending but oh well. School tomorrow… yay… and I would edit but, as I said, school tomorrow… yay… Reviews make me happy! So review, because the AmyTy fun starts in the next chapter… oh, you so want to review now. -Steph


	8. That Cowboy Look

_**Hmmm.**__** Here it is. ENJOY!!**_

**RODEO STONER**

_"What did you say your name was again?" he asked me eventually._

_"Uh… Amy," I said._

_"Hmmm," he said with a nod and started to walk back down the hill. I followed him, but only because that was the way I was going as well._

**Chapter 7:**** That Cowboy Look**

AMYPOV

_Thursday_

How long was I walking behind him? I can't honestly say. And even if I could, I probably wouldn't admit to it. As it was, he stopped walking suddenly when we were next to the corals and I ended up heading straight into his back.

"Oof."

He stared at me, his arms crossed over his chest. He had _that look _on his face. The same exact one I had come to learn was practically synonymous with his face. It seemed that you couldn't have one without the other being far behind. I quickly jumped back a few steps, only stumbling a minor bit.

"Were you planning on following me for long?" His voice was teacher-ly inquisitive, as though he were the adult talking to the young student.

"That's really all relative, I think…" Do not ask me what I was thinking. I haven't the foggiest clue. It just seemed to slip out. Sometimes, when I was around Ty, I couldn't seem to think—or walk—straight. At the moment, all I wanted to do was slap my forehead and run away—I had just made myself sound like a creeper for goodness sakes!— but instead I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck. "What I mean to say is that I… that I…" I tried to think of someway, anyway really, to make it better. I came up with a giant, gapping blank. The truth of the matter was simple: with an opening like _that_, there wasn't much in the way of anything to fix it.

He was still watching me, looking down at me with his arms crossed. I didn't spend too long trying to read his expression. I wasn't sure I _wanted _to know what _that look _meant.

"I was actually going this way too… you see," I said eventually.

"Were you?"

"Um, yes," I said. "I, er, was… actually."

Without another word, he turned back around and kept going on his way to the stables.

I really had no reason at all to go to the cabin—my iPod was tucked safely in my pocket—but it wasn't as though I was about to hang around the paddocks. And that was the only other place I could go. Or back up to the farmhouse. And that was a big no-no. So I ended up going to the cabin anyway, only to get to the door to find it locked—the _one time _dad decided to lock it—and that I had no key. It looked as though I was doomed for the farmhouse after all.

I shuffled back past the barn and corals—Ty paid me absolutely no attention—towards the farmhouse. I walked slowly and aimlessly, taking in the scenery around me—all the dirt that there was to admire. I tried to be optimistic. If I could look on the bright side, then maybe the Baldwins wouldn't recognize me. Or they would and then I would be royally screwed. The pessimistic version seemed to be the more realistic one.

"Amy!"

I stopped in my tracks and spun around slowly, pondering the familiar voice. I saw Adam, leaning over the coral fence, waving frantically at me. I waved calmly back at him and tried to walk away but he gestured me over. I went slowly. He wasn't exactly _my _knight-in-shining-armor, but he would do quite well for now. I'd have to tell Lou I was borrowing him.

"Hey, Adam," I tried to say brightly. "What's up?"

He pushed his stiff cowboy hat back up his forehead in what I must say he thought was a 'cool' gesture. I scratched my nose to hide my twitching lips. "Want to help with the feed?" he asked.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but it would do. Basically anything that delayed my return to that farmhouse dining room was welcome at the moment. I lifted my arms out to the sides. "Sure. What do you want me to—"

"Get that for me, would you?"

A pile of hay fell out of nowhere at my feet. I jumped back, startled, only to be caught by a pair of arms that I was beginning to think I was getting a bit _too _friendly with. As soon as I was righted and steady on my own two feet once more, the arms left my waist and footsteps crunched away from me. I looked down at the hay and then at Ty's retreating back and then back down at the pile of hay, and wondered just _what _had happened.

"Um, what?" I asked confusedly after blinking a couple times.

Ty spun back around to face me. "You're helping me with the feed."

"I am?" He gave me _that look_. "Oh, right, I _am_." I bent down to pick up the pile of hay.

"Whoa there!" Adam didn't sound too happy as he leapt over the coral and squared off in front of Ty. Ty leaned back on his heels, looking totally at ease, as Adam, clad in complete cowboy garb, furiously fumed before him. "What do think you're doing?"

"Getting help with the feed," Ty said slowly and carefully, it was the teacher and the student again. To me, it sounded kind of funny, but it made Adam one hopping mad, little cowboy.

"She's helping _me_." Now it was _my _turn to cross my arms over my chest. I continued watching their bizarre little face-off. It was the most entertainment I'd seen in a while, seeing as the cabin had no television. Now, if Adam were to start pawing the dirt like a bull ready to charge… then we would have done everything but hit the jackpot.

Ty glanced over at me. He winked at me. I almost passed out from the surprise of it all. "I don't think she wants to help you," he said bluntly. I gapped.

Adam spun around to face me, opened his mouth, and then spun back around to face Ty again. He still said nothing. "You… you… you bastard!"

This had Ty almost hysterical with laughter. I could easily see why he found Adam so amusing—I was glad to see that I wasn't the only the one—but just why he was laughing so full heartedly, I don't know in the slightest. I giggled uncertainly where I stood behind the scenes. By now, two of the other hands had come out to watch the morning Feed Drama as it unfolded. They seemed amused as well, though I wasn't sure whose side they were one. From what I had gathered earlier on in our stay, they were probably on Adam's side and laughing that Ty was a lunatic. Against all odds, I bristled at the thought.

Ty finally straightened up and all traces of his smile were gone from his face. "Alright, cowboy, you're a funny one you are, but I've got horses to feed." With that the argument—or whatever it had been—was closed. Ty stalked away very smoothly—not taking any of the hay with him, I might add— and headed straight towards the small coral where Red and Blue were kept. He perched on the top of the fence and the horses came up to him, one on each side with their heads over the coral, ears perked and tails swishing. They were ready for their breakfast, and judging by the focus of their big eyes, their breakfast was lying in a pile at my feet.

I reached down and pulled a fistful of hay in each hand out from the large pile surrounding me.

"Forget that jerk, Amy," Adam said, suddenly behind be again. I turned around to face him. His face was bright red and this time he pulled his cowboy hat down lower over his face. "Come help with the _real _horses."

What that was supposed to mean, I had no idea. They were a good deal finer than the rest of the horses at New Hopes Ranch, but they were still, quite actually, horses. "Real horses?" I echoed incredulously. I glanced over my shoulder at the eager Red and Blue, who were now bobbing their heads at my progress with their breakfast. "As far as I can tell, those two are '_real horses_' as well, Adam."

"You know what I meant," Adam huffed. "It's not like they are of any benefit to New Hopes." He shrugged.

I narrowed my eyes. "Whether or not that may be the case," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, not mindful of the hay still clutched in both of my hands at all, "they are still horses, and they need to eat. And living on this ranch entitles them to the privilege of being fed with all the other horses. To do otherwise is animal abuse, Adam," I said quite seriously.

Adam looked stunned, and then quite nervous. "Well then whatever," he mumbled, shuffling away with his hands in his pockets. "Go and help _him_." He sounded quite like a small child who had just lost a contest. It was quite ridiculous.

I continued on my way over to Red and Blue. Red pranced eagerly as he saw me coming and the morning sun glistened off of his painted coat and slick muscles in a fine way. He was truly a gorgeous animal. Since he was closest, I went to him with the first handful of hay first. He eagerly tore the hay out of my hands and chomped away at it. Blue, feeling left out and having none of it, pushed his way in between Ty and Red and I offered him his handful.

"My horses eat a bit more hay then that," Ty said from the coral fence.

"I'm sure," I muttered, stroking Blue's silky, roan ears. Red butted his head into my hands, vying for some attention now that his hay was finished. I tickled his velvety muzzle and he snorted into my hand.

I heard Ty heave a sigh. I expected him to give another of his witty comments, but instead he just jumped off of the fence and walked away. I resisted the urge to turn around and see where he had gone. It turned out not to be necessary as he came back not a moment later with the rest of the hay in his arms. He tossed it all into the corral and Red and Blue took off after it.

With my arms resting on top of the wooden fence, I watched them play before settling down to eat the rest of their breakfast. I tried not to pay any attention to Ty, even though he was standing only several feet away from me down the fencing.

"I was only trying to save you from Adam, you know," he said suddenly.

I whipped my head around to look at him. "You, um… er, wait what?"

Ty laughed softly, looking back at his horses. "As vile as cowboys are," he said with a shudder, "Adam is by far the vilest that they come."

I laughed. "Would it be terribly wrong of me to agree with you?" I asked quietly, not wanting the aforementioned Vile Cowboy to overhear me.

"Not in the slightest," Ty agreed with me. "So," he continued. "I was saving you from him, not forcing you into doing any involuntary labor."

"Alright."

"Just so we're clear."

"We're clear," I said. "And thanks. It was either Adam or the dining room… I wasn't sure which was worse."

"It is a hard choice," Ty agreed with me.

I smiled softly and we fell silent. I realized that that was our longest running, civil conversation to date. It was also the longest time I had gone around him without making a complete fool out of myself. Five minutes was as good a starting place as any. Ty may not have looked at me throughout the entire exchange, but he had been somewhat more civil then I was used to. All in all, it was an improvement that I was proud of.

However, it seemed that the biggest topic that inspired such civil conversation—with a side of mocking—was _Adam_. That made it not so much of an improvement in the end. Once our Adam Topic had died, I found that I had nothing left in my reservoir of witty conversation starters. I tried a few things out in my head—_so, do you like music__ where are you from?; do you like Colorado?; what are your life goals?; what was the inspiration behind your horses' names?; did you happen to like the movie National Treasure? _Everything I tried just sounded stupid, but just to go with the flow, I added a bit of dialogue to several of them. They all went similarly: disastrously, and they all ended the same: with _that look_. I gave up before I could even start.

Out of the corner of my eye, I surreptitiously peered at Ty's profile. He'd seemed to have a sixth sense and almost immediately his head, and accusing eyes—_that look_—swung in my direction. I quickly looked back at Red and Blue and the silence between us went on as it had before the little incident. The silence allowed me more time to think, and looking at Red and Blue made me think about the rodeo.

Before I could help myself, I had opened my big mouth and all the good I _might _have done in having a real conversation with Ty was surely undone. "So I, um… I, uh, er, saw you last night at the, uh… the, uh… rodeo…" I winced, I wasn't expecting a miracle but _that_ was entirely worse than I had anticipated.

I suppose I would have given myself _that look _as well this time around. "Thanks, I'd already figured so much out," he said, undoubtedly remembering my little mishap _behind the scenes _last night.

"Er," was all I managed my first try. My second try was little better. "I noticed that you, uh, had a bit of, um… a, er, hard time in your event and I…" oh boy, _the_ _look _was reaching new intensities. I could see him wondering why he had ever saved me from the Vile Cowboy Adam. "I was wondering if I could… that is to say that I, um, thought that I could maybe, uh, offersomehelp," I finished in a rush.

He was silent for such a good deal of time that I was beginning to thank my lucky stars that he hadn't been able to decipher my speed-talking. But then he responded. I couldn't counted my chickens before they'd hatched—or, you know, _whatever_.

"What makes you think that _you _can help _me_?"

I gulped. "Well," I started. I had a feeling that that would be the highpoint of what was to come. "At home in Virginia—" his eyes narrowed and I gulped "—my family owns a, er, a well horse rehabilitation center I guess. I work with a lot of the horses and I thought that maybe I could possibly, um…"

"What?" Ty snapped, turning his whole body against the coral so that he was completely facing me. "My horses don't need rehabilitating."

I fidgeted and clenched my hands on the wood of the coral fence. "I know," I said slowly. "I was just saying that I—"

"Tell me, Amy, have you ever _trained _a horse?" he cut me off sharply.

I was so preoccupied—and stunned—that he had said my name that I almost forgot to answer. He was staring at me expectantly and I remembered what he was waiting for. "Well, yes, I actually have."

His eyes narrowed even more. He took a step closer to me. I shrunk back against the coral. "Ever trained a _western _horse?" he challenged.

"Well… no," I said slowly but steadily. "But that's not to say that I—"

"My horses—" he gestured to Red and Blue "—are western horses through and through. They are not the same as your little push-button, English show ponies."

My eyes narrowed, though I did not even _try _my hand at _the look_. "Neither are _my_ horses. We _rescue _abused and abandoned horses, and help others work through their problems. I've helped English and western horses alike, but I do _not _train push-button ponies."

We faced each other off, staring at each other with similarly determined expressions—though, in all honesty, mine didn't hold a birthday cake candle to his. I do think, however, that given my previous—and ongoing—history around him, I held my ground quite well.

It seemed funny to me that I had been trying to find another topic to hold a civil conversation with him about, and I found one to argue instead. Defending Heartland and what we did there was always something that could really get me going.

Looking into his blazing emerald green eyes, taking in the muscled arms, the hardened the torso, the tattoos, _the look_, I felt very insignificant. Red and Blue had come back to join us at the fence and they stood by Ty's shoulder's. It was like a little army ganging up against me, appraising me.

Then, thankfully, I heard my name being yelled out. I looked around and saw my family coming down the big hill from the farmhouse. They always did take an oddly long amount of time to eat—especially my mother. They were yelling and gesturing for me to join them. I turned back to Ty, thankful for the excuse to bolt as fast as I could without looking like _that _much of a freak—or a bigger one then he already undoubtedly thought I was.

I looked up at him one last time. I thought something had changed in his face. It was only a little something. Not great by any means. _The__ look _was quiet clearly still there. But there was a small, subtle, little change in the light in his eyes, the pull of his mouth, the tension in his shoulders. I didn't know what it meant—if it even meant anything at all. I didn't even know if it meant something good, or if it was something bad. But all of that was completely besides the point. I could have just imagined it. Simple as that.

"So, um, yeah… bye," I said quickly before scurrying off.

I wasn't fast enough. I got no further than five paces when his voice stopped me in my hurried tracks. Behind me, he said in a low voice, "I usually practice in the ring behind the hills at midnight. You can… _come,_" he forced the word out as though it were poisonous. "If you don't show up, I won't lose any sleep over it." And then he was vaulting over the fence and into the coral with Red and Blue. The two magnificent horses circled him fondly.

I stared at him for a moment longer, my mind reeling.

Then I turned and ran off to the car, where my family was all waiting for me, ready to start another day of our western family vacation.

**Short? Yes. ****Any good?**** That's up to you to decide. **

**I stopped it here because I just want to get it up and the next part would make it really long. And this part was okay as its own chapter, just like the next part is good as its own chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. You could show me… in a review!!! (****wow****Great idea, Steph!)**

**I'd love Ty to give me **_**that look**_

**Steph ****Malfoy**


	9. The Horse Whisperer and the Cowboy

_Here it __is :D__ Sorry it's a little late. __I had midterms and whatever you want to call my version of studying took up all my time. __Look out for__ a WP update __s__oon_

_PS1. Read my authors note at the bottom (repeat of WP)_

_PS2. I noticed a comment about Amy's stuttering and… it's just her character. It's not a real __stutterstutter__ per say. I do the "__er__… uh… um…" thing too. And Amy only does it around Ty. This Ty is supposed to have that affect on her, that's just the way the characters are supposed to play out in this story. It doesn't mean that she's less confident or __yadda__yadda__ whatever __whatever__. It's just the affect that Ty has on her… I think I'd be acting very similar in her position. :D I've been waiting for someone to say that!_

_PS3. I just noticed that there is a RED in this story… __heh__. No connection with Ben's Red._

**RODEO STONER**

**Chapter 8: ****The Horse Whisperer and the Cowboy**

AMYPOV

_Thursday_

That day I spent the majority of the car ride through Yellowstone contemplating the best—and cleanest—way to throw myself into a geyser. We spent half an hour perched on uncomfortable wooden benches waiting to see Old Faithful show us her stuff. Dad had his video camera in hand and mom was tittering on about something or another. Abbey swung around the safety bars like a little monkey and Lou watched her like a hawk—like it _her _they had to worry about falling into Old Faithful or something.

I stared ahead, wondering just what I had done to get myself into this mess. The answer was quite simple: I had opened my big fat mouth. The way I saw it I had two options. Firstly, I could go meet with Ty. At midnight. In the desert. And likely meet my death with no witnesses around. Secondly, I could bail out and stay in the cabin. In my bed Safe and sound. But then I'd have to spend the next week and a half avoiding him. And that was proving to be easier said than done.

There was a third option, I realized as I looked back at Old Faithful. I'd simply lay myself over the opening and when it finally decided to shoot up… well, tata, Amy. I guess you won't be making that meeting with Ty after all…

I had to admit, the third option was the most appealing. I crossed my legs at the ankles and sat on my hands to keep in place.

I reasoned that it was the sun beating down on my back and not thoughts of Ty that was driving me to near suicidal thoughts. All the same, I tried to will Old Faithful to actually _be _faithful and erupt already. I thought about that commercial I'd seen once with a guy dumping baking soda in a geyser, the plan didn't seem so silly to me anymore, but I doubted they sold baking soda in the gift shop.

Looking between the rest of my family, I seemed to be the only one losing patience. They all looked perfectly serene and content with this little family adventure.

I debated my options and by the time Old Faithful finally decided it was ready to show us what it had, I was still no closer to coming to a decision. Well, I knew what I was going to do. I was just trying to convince myself out of it.

-

-

-

Late that night, I was past the point of no return. I'd given up trying to rationalize this whole little outing to myself quite soon after I'd started trying. Hell. How much can you _rationalize _something when you're climbing out of a bathroom window at midnight? As I said, you can try but it cannot be done.

My dismount from the window sill was tidy enough but my landing left much to be desired as I staggered. My ankles were jarred from the impact and I vaguely wondered _why_. It wasn't exactly a great distance down. Maybe I just… No, it was definitely the shoes. Not enough ankle support, my mom always told me.

I zipped my jacket up a bit further against the chilly Wyoming night— or rather _early morning—_ air and began my trek towards the barn and corals. I had no clue where I was going, Ty had obviously not supplied me with directions. Or even with a real location. _"The ring behind the hills."_ I figured that if I was looking for a _ring_, starting by the hills near the _stables_ was as good a place as any.

At the round pen I got the fleeting idea that he might be only _playing with me_. I froze and scowled, wondering what my next move should be. I looked around. My eyes landed on the small round pen and neither Blue nor Red was inside so I figured that he must have been telling the truth. I trudged on past a jury on speculative horses. I wanted to shout at them to stop staring at me. I wasn't doing anything wrong. Not really anyway. Well I wasn't breaking any _laws_. At least none that I knew of. The wide-eyed gazes and careful chomping and calculated movements of the horses in the dark set my nerves on end.

_Why _was I doing this? Why why why why _why_? Why was my bed not good enough? Why was I so… I didn't even know. It wasn't like he was mistreating his horses or anything. Didn't _my _job stop there? I wasn't Val Grant, how people rode in competitions for money and fancy ribbons wasn't important to me. I cared about the horse. Only the horse. And if there was an owner then about the horse and owners relationship. But not how many _ribbons _they won… or belt buckles, as the case may be.

I had it half in my right mind to turn right back around, climb back through the window and get back into bed. I was walking into the middle of _nowhere _to meet with someone who I could barely hold a civilized conversation with. That was not a promising situation. I _should _have gone back.

I just kept on walking. To where, I didn't know. There was a hill in front of me. If he was behind that, then he was there. If not… then… well, I'd tried.

Up close the so-called hill was really more mountainous. I stared up at it with my hands on my hips. What had I gotten myself into? I groaned. I looked over my shoulder and couldn't even see the outline of the ranch in the dark distance. I gulped. For the first time I realized—really realized—that I was in the middle of the Wyoming dessert in the middle of night, a time when it conveniently happens to be pitch black out. The mountains on the other side of the mini-mountain and all around the plains loomed darker against the already dark sky. Somewhere—and I'm not so sure it was in the very distant distance—an animal howled. I quickly started up the hill.

A soft drumming reached my ears after several exhausting moments had passed and I was near collapsing. I stopped to listen. It stopped and the land was completely silent for an almost immeasurable stretch of moments. Then it started again and my breath caught in my throat. I scampered up the hill and as I got closer to the top I realized it was getting easier to see the rocks in my path. There was a light on the other side. That would only have to mean that—

I had just reached the top and caught my first glimpse of the other side when a four legged _thing _came barreling out of the dark at me, barking like mad. A bloodcurdling scream left my lips as whatever it was pounced on me—and boy could it _jump_. No thanks to the new found light lighting up my rocky path, I tripped and went sprawling.

Whatever had attacked me sat calmly on my back as I lay there as still as I possibly could in hopes of not upsetting it. Maybe I could escape with _most _of my limbs, if not all of them. My face was in the dirt, my hands were shaking over my head, my heart was thundering, a very doggish panting filled my ears. The silence was unbreakable as the various ways by which I could be viciously ripped apart —

Er. Wait._Doggish__…__ panting__…_

I tentatively picked up my head and peeked down the hill. It was only half the distance down the other side that it had been up. And at the bottom was a very big, sand filled rectangular ring with spotlights shining over it. In the grass outside the arena a beautiful paint horse roamed idly, swishing its tail. And then, right there in the middle of the arena, right there next to the metal calf contraption _thing_, sitting astride a blue roan horse and looking at me with a calmly skeptical look on his face was none other than Ty.

I stared at him for a minute before I realized that I was still lying on the ground. I leapt to my feet and whatever had attacked me protested its displeasure and clawed at my back through my sweatshirt to avoid crashing to the ground. I yelped in surprise, falling to my butt on the ground.

A long, low whistle broke through the night and whatever satanic being it was that had been called to bombard me was called back to its master. It barreled past me and down the hill and I blushed. Judging by the color of its fur—a mix of tan, black and gray—it was only Ty's little Australian Cattle dog I'd seen back on the ranch, no satanic being. Though, when I picked myself up again and brushed off my butt and caught the look of Ty's face, I wasn't so sure that the satanic being wasn't _him_.

Once more I had it half in my mind to run away flailing my arms over my head and screaming bloody murder—though Ty would probably just take care to tell me, in an infuriatingly calm voice, that I had just done that when his _domesticated_ _dog had attacked me_. But once more something forced my feet to go in the wrong direction. I walked down the hill and towards Ty, even though he had a malicious gleam in his haunting emerald eyes.

"You sure do know how to make an entrance," he drawled once only the arena fence separated us.

If I had been expecting an apology for being mauled by his dog—who was now bopping an unbothered Red on the nose— I was sorely mistaken. I looked up at him through the blinding spotlights. "Yes. Well… I…" I frowned. I didn't have to go and _agree _with him, did I?

He smirked. "I didn't think you'd actually come."

"Hmmm."

"It was nice entertainment though. The night was getting rather dull out here… until you came along anyway." I must have missed him pull the reins or make any movement at all, but Blue spun around and walked purposefully in the other direction.

"You know you're not supposed to ride in sneakers!" I shouted after him. It was the only thing I could think of. I was hardly surprised when he didn't even look at me.

I wondered again just what I was doing here as I watched him coil his lasso around the saddle horn. I folded my hands on top of the fence and just _watched. _He twirled, spun—_whatever—_the lasso around for a while and I grew skeptical.

Not that it wasn't enthralling but… besides the fact that I couldn't keep a straight face even _thinking _the word 'lasso'… I felt like I was witnessing a bad porn movie in action or something. I mean seriously. It was a "cowboy"—I'd heard they were supposed to be _hot_… granted Ty wasn't even a cowboy but… not the point—in nicely fitted and worn in jeans, chucks and a black tee stretched across his chest. Not to mention the lean, built body, the tattoos, the hair, the face… the _eyes_… the fact that the he was on his horsey equivalent and twirling around a lasso… it was definite porn material.

When he next looked over at me I'm sure I turned three new shades of red. Under the fluorescent lights I bet it was quite a flattering color on me. But with thoughts of _that face_—_that look_—staring in its own feature porn film… and then to find that same face—that same look—focused straight on me…

"Problem?" I choked out in an attempt to be the epitome of the three C's—Calm, Cool and Casual—when he just kept staring at me. I think it may have come out more like a strangled fish though.

"I was going to ask _you_." His gaze was piercing and I didn't know which way to run fast enough.

Instead of running, I planted my feet firmly in the dusty ground and tried to blink away the image of a shirtless Ty in leather chaps and a worn in Stetson. "So what—"

"Have you gotten a bit of _sand _in your eye?"

"I, er… what? Oh." I realized that by _metaphorically _blinking away my bad thoughts, I had actually physically started blinking. "Well yes I suppose," I said quickly. I was briefly glad of the darkness covering my blush until I remembered I was standing under a blaring spotlight. I rubbed the back of my neck and scuffed my feet in the ground. "There is a lot of that around, you know."

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Blue snorted and the noise seemed to echo through our little valley.

"Right," I said. "So how do you want me to help?"

The look on his face would have sent even the most charitable of men running. "I don't need your _help_. I never even asked for your _help_," he spat the word out each time as though it were the foulest word in the English language. "If I recall, this was all your idea."

"Er…" I blinked. His thunderous eyes left me frozen. "Do?" I guessed. "What would you like me to _do_?" He still said nothing, but I could imagine his mind working up some very creative responses to that question. I frowned.

To my utmost surprised, the murderous look on his face dripped away and his expression became unreadable. Blue spun around and stalked to the other side of the arena, it was almost as though the horse and rider were one.

"Do? I don't know. You're the horse expert. You tell me."

I stared after his retreating back, absolutely astounded. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. He was very good at being expressionless. Just as he was at being mocking. And sarcastic. And at terrifying me. But I'd never heard his voice quite like this. It definitely wasn't the I-am-so-serious-listen-to-me-right-now-or-you-will-die that I knew he was good at, and it wasn't any of the others… in fact, it just left me confused. Gob smacked even. That's not a word I ever thought I'd find a situation appropriate to use in but this one seemed legitimate.

I shook my head and cleared myself out of the daze. Considering the fact that he had just said that _I _was the expert here I felt that it was safe to concur that Ty was, once again, mocking me. If I knew one thing about Ty it was that he would never admit it when someone else was better at something then he was.

None of that mattered though, I tried to convince myself. He could mock me as much as he wanted. I would just prove him that he was wrong. I would just have to show him that I actually did _get _horses. But first I had to wipe the confused look off of my face. And I had about half a second to do so before he saw me again.

"Well," I started. I looked around. I hadn't ever bothered to think so far as to what I would actually _do._ Who would have thought he'd actually "ask" for my help? Not this could actually be considered asking for my help, but I figured it was as close to it as I was going to get. If he wanted to mock me, so be it. He didn't expect me to be able to do anything for him. I would just have to prove him wrong; I'd have to show him just how full of surprises Amy Fleming really was.

But first I had to show myself.

As my mind reached a roadblock, Ty started twirling around his lasso again. He swung it out and it looped around the metal calf's metal neck. Blue stood perfectly still and swished his tail. Ty looked utterly bored, not even bothering to tighten the rope around the fake calf. Blue dropped his head to the sand and pushed his nose through it.

Ty looked back up at me. "Well," he said.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out, and I knew that nothing _good _would, so I closed it again and put my chin in my hands. Ty gave the rope a sharp jerk and whole metal calf contraption toppled over snout first. Blue snorted but was unfazed beyond that. I, on the other hand, flinched at the clanging of metal limbs on metal limbs.

"You're not much of a horse whisperer," Ty called to me as he pushed Blue into an easy lope. My mouth dropped open. I jumped back as horse and rider passed unnecessarily close to the fence I had just been leaning on. Ty smirked down at me.

I climbed to the top of fence as they circled the bottom of the arena. "I'm not a horse whisperer!" I shouted back at him. He raised a hand in a halfhearted waving gesture. I think it was meant to dismiss me.

I had a witty retort—or something of the like—on the tip of my tongue when Ty turned the still loping Blue in my direction from the other end of the arena. Now logically—_logically_—I knew that no matter how much he did hate me, Ty wasn't about to run me over or anything. He was just out to scare me. Again. And let me just say that it worked. No matter how easy that lope of Blue's was, Blue was a big, fit horse, and Ty was a big, fit guy. I froze on my perch on the top of the fence with my mouth open.

Just as I was about to topple over the back of the fence, my eye filming over with images of charging horses breathing fire with demon riders with little devil horns laughing maliciously, Ty pulled Blue back into a sudden sliding stop. Blue practically went down on his haunches. The sand sprayed up from his little performance hit my calves and bounced off of my jeans with little _pings_.

Horse and rider straightened themselves. Ty looked quite proud of himself as he smirked at me and tugged at a lock of Blue's long black mane.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded breathlessly, my hands gripping the fence to steady my suddenly unstable perch.

Ty turned Blue away from me. "I was hoping to help the inspiration hit, Horse Whisperer."

"And you planned to do this by running my over?"

He laughed. "I was merely showing you one of Blue's tricks. He's quite proud of it you know… but not when you're so unappreciative of his efforts."

"How could I—"

"I've found the overall affect is… _better_ when you witness it head on," he said with a grin. "So, Horse Whisperer," he said, pulling Blue to a stop next to me and twisting his body around in the saddle. "Has inspiration struck yet?" There was almost something sinister about the glint in his emerald eyes. More than almost actually. There _was _something sinister about it.

That little thing inside my chest he'd been messing with this whole time finally snapped. I jumped off of the fence and looked up at him with my hands on my hips. He looked amused. I tried not to let that deter my frustration. "Well you see, _Cowboy_, that's the funny thing. I don't thi—" And then it snapped back into its place when I realized what I just said and to whom I had just said it to. For lack of a better phrase, I panicked.

At first it wasn't so bad. Kind of like that silent type of inner panicking that leaves you looking rather like a startled deer. But he just kept staring at me completely silent and expressionless. _That look_ magnified twentyfold would have been better. He was perfectly calm, his body twisted at the waist to face me, my hands on either side of the saddle. And his face… with his hair falling over one eye and his mouth straight was perfectly composed… all accept his eyes that is. _They _told another story, and it wasn't a happy story.

The second part of my panic was what was bad. It must have surpassed bad by absolute _eons_.

"I…uh—I mean… what I meant to say is that I, uh—is that you… and I, um, er… well—uh, um… you're not a cowboy!" I finally blurted out amongst a torrent of no coherent thought. He still made no move, not even a little _twitch_, so I couldn't stop myself. "Cowboys clearly don't, uh, have such great… you know, er, hair as you and you… uh—that is to say that you, um, that you, um… aren't even wearing a cowboy hat!"

His response? He burst out laughing. Not even a little chuckle, a full out knee slapping laughter, he just didn't slap his knee or anything. I blushed new shades of red. I was trying to decide if I liked his eerie calm better than his laughter when I realized what I had just said and whom I had just said it to—_again_—and I decided that my best plan of action was to run.

As I turned and fled back up the hill with Ty's laughter echoing—in every possible sense of the word—behind me, I realized once more that I was doing quite a bit of running over the last few days when it came to Ty.

I was snapped right back to reality not a second later—and all hopes or running were yet _again _foiled—when I ran straight into the arena fence.

"Oof." I bounced backwards and caught myself on the fence before any further damage could be done. I didn't think that Ty was in a position to catch me this time—not that his laughter would have allowed him to be much help. I leaned over the fence, staring at the ground, my back to him for quite some time.

He was finally silent. "My, my, Horse Whisperer, it would seem that you also know how to make an exit. You certainly are a girl of many talents."

I turned around slowly to face him. He was fighting a grin. I frowned. "I'm glad you find me so amusing but I think I'm going to go." I made a show of climbing to the top of the arena fence.

He spoke up just as I was about to jump down to the other side. "I told you your little English methods wouldn't work on my horses."

I whipped back around to face him with no consideration to my precarious perch and almost toppled back over the fence. Ty smirked. "I haven't even tried anything," I defended myself.

He shrugged. "You couldn't even think of anything to do. Some horse whisperer you are." And then he and Blue were off again before I could retort. I groaned and kicked the fence, and then bit my lip at the pain it caused in my toes.

I watched as horse and rider moved together as one around large rectangular arena at a fast paced canter that was almost a gallop. As I watched them, I wished that I could be riding again. I sighed and rested my chin in my hands.

I was so absorbed in watching Ty and Blue that I didn't notice that Red had come up behind me until he was butting his head against my shoulder and almost sending me sprawling once more. I half turned and stroked his muzzle.

"Hey, bud," I said softly, tickling his lips with my fingers. Red bobbed his head and I laughed softly as he snorted. "I wonder what he does with _you_," I mused, rubbing soft circles onto Red's forehead. His ears flickered towards me. I sighed and continued my gentle T-Touch circles on the paints face. Soon Red's eyelids were drooping, and I was beginning to feel the early hour of the morning catching up with me as well. I didn't even want to check my cell phone to see the time.

"What have you done to my horse?"

My fingers froze and I jolted upright at the accusatory voice that broke through my peaceful haze. I almost toppled over again when I saw Ty staring down at me, _that look _back and kicking with a vengeance. My fingers fell away from Red's face and I fiddled with them behind my back.

"Um…" I said slowly. "It's called, er, T-Touch. My mom taught it to me. We use it on a lot of the horses back home."

"What does it do?"

I shrugged, looking back at Red who had now turned his attention to a spot of grass. I played with a part of his mane that I could reach. "It's supposed to relax horses."

"Are you saying my horse needs to be relaxed?" Ty accused.

I sighed deeply. _Here we go again_. "No," I said carefully. "I just… it's just, you know, habit."

Ty scowled. "Whatever. You can do your horse voodoo if you want but there's nothing wrong with _Red_. If you could just—"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with _Blue _either," I snapped before I could stop myself. I felt my eyes widen in shock at my little outburst. Why did these things keep _happening _to me?

Ty crossed his arms over his chest—his rather broad chest—and stared down at me. He looked even more intimidating sitting atop Blue—who really was no meager horse. "So it's _me _with the problem then?"

"No." I looked around desperately. Couldn't something just burst into flames… or _something_? "I don't think either of you have a problem." I paused. "What's the big deal anyway?" He stared at me. "I mean, why does it matter if you win these shows anyway?"

His mouth instantly became a thin line and he was again riding away from me. I sighed and slumped against the fence. He rode over to the crumpled form of the metal calf and peered down at it. Then Blue spun around, cantered to the end of the arena and wheeled back around to canter back towards the metal-calf-heap. Ty swung the lasso around over his head as Blue's body stretched out underneath him, he barely had a hold on the reins but he was in perfect control and he hardly moved in the saddle. He finally let go of the rope and it landed on top of the pile of metal calf. Blue slid to a halt in a spray of sand. Both rider and horse stayed still for an almost endless moment before Ty tossed the rope away, a look of disgust on his face.

My trance was broken as Ty leapt from the saddle and landed gracefully on the arena floor, quite like a cat, I couldn't help but think. A very dangerous cat of course. One that wouldn't hesitate to eat you if given the slightest opportunity.

Before I could stop myself, or even _think _what I was doing, my feet were moving slowly but surely across the arena sand, getting closer and closer to him with every stride.

Ty watched me approach. He leaned back against Blue's neck, looking frustrated but calmer. It was almost as though that horse—both of them really—was a calming presence to him. Blue, bless his heart, didn't even seem to mind that he was supporting Ty's weight.

"I have to get out of this place," he said when I was right in front of him. "Winning is the only way to do that."

I just nodded, not daring to test my luck—and my life—by questioning him farther. I thought for a moment. I looked back down at the pile of metal calf limbs with the lasso lying on top and finally I had an idea. I looked back up at Ty. "Have you ever practiced with a calf? Like a _live _one?"

"Do you see a live calf around here?"

I sighed, and just when I thought we had been making some progress… "Well, I don't think you _or _Blue have a problem. I mean, clearly you both know what you're doing. But I think what you need to do is practice on a live subject so that you're more prepared for when you're in a show and—"

"Rodeo," he interrupted me with a grimace.

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Technically, it's a _rodeo_. I don't do shows, that you English's thing."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Ro-de-o. Whatever. Basically, you need to practice on a live subject." I nodded, proud of myself.

"And just _where_, Horse Whisperer, do you expect me to get a live calf? The mall?"

I frowned. "Well… I don't know." I shrugged.

He was silent for a moment as he reached down and coiled up his lasso. "Does it have to be a calf?"

"Well… I suppose not. I mean, as long as you're not on a horse and you're just practicing your aim I guess you could use your dog. Don't strangle the poor thing or tie him up though. Or you could use Red, though I would suggest… not… um… what?" I stopped at the look he was giving me. It was completely unlike any other I'd ever seen on him. It wasn't mocking or sarcastic, it wasn't _that look_, it wasn't mean or nasty… but I would have to say that it was of the plotting variety, which quite frankly was just as bad in the long run.

He tapped the lasso against his chin and gave me a long, calculating look. "How dedicated to your horse whispering did you say you were, Horse Whisperer?" His emerald eyes sparkled with something that terrified me.

"Um, well… first, I'm not a horse whisperer." He just smirked, clearly he enjoyed that his new nickname for me was irritating me. "And second, I didn't say but… it's basically my whole life at home."

He grinned. Oh how I wanted to run away. "So you'd do anything to help a horse in need?"

I gulped and stumbled back a step. "Um… I suppose I would…"

"I want you to be my live subject."

He said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, that I could do nothing but stare at him. I'm sure the expression on my face was priceless because he was certainly getting a good laugh out of _something. _

"I'm glad you're getting a kick out of this," I scowled, "but I meant within reason! I see no reason, only a large amount of pain, in being your _live subject_."

"We can be gentle."

I scoffed. "Sorry, Cowboy, but no way Jose." I could have slapped myself for how lame that was but it was too late to take it back.

"Alright then, Horse Whisperer," he said as he gracefully swung himself back into the saddle and picked up Blue's reins. "Have a nice walk back to the ranch. You know it's a mile right? And it's three-thirty in the morning," he consulted his watch.

I groaned. I'd get back to the ranch by the time the _sun _was coming up.

Even though all of my thoughts were screaming at me that it was a very, very, _very _bad—horribly bad in fact—idea to do it, my traitorous mouth—and selfish feet—just _had _to speak up.

"Wait!" I yelled out as he rode away. He stopped Blue and turned around in the saddle, an expectant look on his face. I sighed and fiddled with my hands.

"I don't have all day."

"_Fine_. I'll make you a deal. I'll help you… if you give me a ride back to the ranch." I waited for what felt like an eternity for him to reply.

"Deal," he finally said and leapt out of the saddle. "You can take Blue." He left Blue standing there for me and then just walked away to get Red.

"And I won't be manhandled!" I yelled after his back. He just lifted his hand and dismissed my comment with a wave.

I approached Blue feeling slightly nauseous, not at the prospect of riding such a magnificent horse, but at what I had gotten myself into now. I patted Blue's rump to let him know I was there and then let him sniff my hand. I stroked his face for a couple seconds and tried not to mutter about how obnoxious his owner was least Blue hear—he, as well as Red, didn't seem to really _see _Ty, they were absolutely besotted with the guy.

"Were you planning on getting on anytime soon?"

I jumped about a mile in the air at his voice. I looked over my shoulder to see Ty sitting on Red. Somehow Ty had managed to produce a bridle for Red from somewhere but he rode bareback. And man, if I had thought Ty looked good on Blue in a _saddle_… how naïve I had been…

"Right… yeah… of course…" I hurried around to Blue's side and fumbled to straighten out the large monstrosity that the western saddle called a stirrup. I finally got my foot into it and swung myself lightly up into the saddle. I quickly adjusted the stirrups, obviously finding them to be a good number of holes too long for me before I rode out of the arena after Ty and Red.

Blue was, quite literally, a dream and a half to ride. He responded to the lightest of touches—though he seemed to respond to Ty's _thoughts_—and his stride was so smooth he seemed to float across the ground. And this was all at the walk. I wondered if Ty would let me go faster. I was itching to find out what galloping on this horse would be like but thought it would be safer not to press my luck.

"So," I finally had to break the silence as we rode down the backside of the little mountain. Ty glanced at my briefly before looking straight ahead again. "Do you do any showing… er, _rodeo-__ing_, with Red?"

He laughed humorlessly. "If you thought Blue's little trick back there was impressive—" was _that _what he called almost killing me?—"then you'd love to see some of Red's." He patted the horse's neck.

"So he's like… western dressage?"

Ty snorted. "No."

"Oh."

At the bottom of the hill, Ty and Red picked up a trot and after a moment I followed too. I sighed at how wonderful Blue was. I couldn't help but wonder at how a guy like Ty could end up with two horses like Red and Blue.

"I swear to God," Ty yelled back to me suddenly. I looked up at his back, startled. "If I even see you _posting_ on my horse…"

I immediately stopped my posting and dropped into a sitting trot. My cheeks flamed with a blush that I was glad the darkness hid.

I followed when Ty pushed Red into a canter and Blue's swift stride carried us neck and neck.

Soon we were flying over the desert neck and neck. I could barely comprehend how Ty managed to keep such a perfect seat bareback. It irked me to no end that he was such a good rider. It made absolutely no sense to me.

I focused on Blue but all too soon the ranch came into view. I pulled Blue to a slow canter but Ty let Red go. They thundered past the corals and did another fancy sliding stop at the small round pen.

I shook my head as Ty jumped from Red's back before the horse had stood all the way back up, and slowed Blue back down to a walk and let him have a long rein.

My western vacation was about to get a whole lot more exciting. If that was a good thing or a bad thing… I guess I would just have to wait to find out… though, something—and I don't possibly know what…—gave me the inkling that being treated like cattle wasn't going to be so hot.

**Well… I don't know how good it is but it's a chapter at least! WP is up next! **

**MUCHOS GRACIAS to HorseLover20693 for helping me watch the Heartland TV show. I have to say, the cowboy hats (:****:snickers****::) were **_**very **_**inspiring. And now I'm hooked on another TV show… because the TV Amy and Ty are showing more promise than book Amy and Ty… Do I even have to say how psyched I am for the next episode?? ****Thanksss**

**And now…**** WP authors not… just because I feel obligated to repeat it just in case anyone's not reading WP….**

_**1. I realize now (it's been YEARS in the making) that starting so many stories at once was a very stupid thing to do. But I'm really trying to get things done. And I actually WANT to get them done. So I have a nifty little plan to set forth the completion of all my current stories in a timely fashion. I'm going to go in cycles and concentrate on about two at a time. The first two up are WEST POINT and RODEO STONER, simply because they are the most recently update and therefore the freshest in my mind. Hopefully this plan will work well for everyone and I will not be so overwhelmed with trying to keep story lines and character personalities/issues straight and regular updates will once more come! **__**Yay**__** (This is part of my New Year's resolution) **_

_**and**_

_**2. I've noticed a rather significant decline in reviews. I'm not going to demand reviews or anything (another resolution, I'm just going to accept it as it is), but I would like to know if I'm not doing something right. Things you've enjoyed I would also love to hear as well. And I have frequently taken reviewers suggestions (there's actually even going to be on in the next chapter). So basically, if you enjoyed the chapter, or even if you didn't, please just try to spend a couple seconds to tell me what you thought. Also, I spend tons of time making sure these chapters are at least passable so especially when they're really long like this one I'd appreciate reviews.**_

**That ****tis**** all.**

**Please review! It was extra long… ****dunno**** how good… but 10 pages… phew, I'm really writing some long chapters these days… **

**REVIEW!!**

**Bets you didn't notice the last line RHYMED**

**Steph ****Malfoy**


	10. Hog Tied

**Authors Note**

I'm baaaa-aaaaackkk!!

Sorry guy, really. I've been having real bad migraines this year and keeping up with school has been like my LIFE. But I have a couple of weeks before I leave for my summer trip (going to the Navajo reservation) so I'll aim for an update a day or something of the like.

And I hate when people do this but I HAVE to. Please read (and review) my newest story, Elysium. I promise you it will ROCK!! I wouldn't be shamelessly promoting one of my own stories if I wasn't absolutely in love with it. So after you read (and review, of COURSE) this, go check it out! If you liked the movie Gladiator (which I sincerely hope you did), you will love it!

So just keep reading and thanks for not losing faith in me! Extra thanks to all the PM's and reviews I've gotten!! Keep reviewing!!

Steph

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Heartland, Amy wouldn't be having an affair with some guy named Alfonso (or _what. ever_) in the latest book.

--

**RODEO STONER**

**Chapter 9: Hog Tied**

AMYPOV

_Friday_

Morning—the _real _morning—rolled around with a bang. Literally.

I felt like I had just fallen asleep—and I suppose I really just had—when Lou was shaking me to wake up. "G'way" I mumbled, pulling the covers over my head and tried to go back to sleep. It seemed to work for a minute. Then my head was suspended in the air, the pillow pulled right out from under it. My head hit the mattress with a bounce and my eyes flew open just in time to see my pillow coming increasingly closer to my face.

"Lou!" I screeched. "Oof." She gave me a few good whacks with the pillow before I was able to wrestle it away from her. The struggle ended with Lou on her back and me sprawled on top of her, precariously close to the edge of my bed. But the pillow was securely in my possession. "What the hell was that for?" I asked breathlessly, blowing the hair from my eyes.

"Maybe you should go to bed earlier," she said. My eyes widened and Lou nudged me off the side of the bed. I landed with a thud on my back, the pillow still clutched to my chest. I closed my eyes and groaned. "Careful, Amy, someone might start thinking you weren't in your bed last night."

"Lou—"

"Hurry up, Amy," she said, dropping her previous comments. "Mom and dad said to meet them up at that house for breakfast. I'll wait for you on the porch." The door slammed shut behind her as she left the little cabin.

I stayed on the floor for another minute. I groaned. How had Lou known I hadn't been here last night? I'd have to be more careful tonight… _tonight_. Tonight was the night I went from girl to cattle. As I trudged to my feet to get dressed for the day, Lou was the least of my problems.

I quickly pulled on a pair of white, gray and light blue plaid short and a black tank top. I zipped up a black hoodie over top so I was prepared for the cool morning air, and I laced up my black Converse. I quickly pulled a brush through my long, straight hair and brushed my teeth before sulking out to join Lou on the porch. She jumped down from her perch on the railing and slipped her cell phone back into her pocket. We started the walk up to the farmhouse in silence.

"So where did you go?" she asked the impending question.

I frowned and kidded up a cloud of dust in the road. "Nowhere."

Lou laughed. "Oh come off it, Amy. It may surprise you, but I'm not exactly used to going to sleep at 10 o'clock like we have been. I was awake at midnight." I could feel the blood drain from my face. So she had caught me again. "So I saw you get up and get dressed, and then go into the bathroom. You didn't come out so I went in. The window was closed but it was unlocked." We were silent as I digested the knowledge that I had been caught. I hadn't thought I would be caught quite so fast… or _again._ "I didn't tell mom and dad if that's what you're worried about," she said next, taking the next thought right from my head. "But I just want to know where you were."

"It was really nowhere, Lou," I said, looking over at the horses as we passed the corals. Ty wasn't there, I noticed.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?"

I looked back at the dusty ground. "I just couldn't sleep and wanted to walk around," I said.

"So you weren't meeting any rouge cowboys?" Lou asked suggestively.

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Lou. Does that sound like me at _all_?" I attempted to joke but my throat was so dry.

She looked at me skeptically. "I suppose not." We were silent again as we started up the steps to the farmhouse. "You know I don't believe you were alone," she finally said.

"I know," I said softly.

"But I won't tell mom and dad what you did last night," she added.

"Thanks, Lou."

After another moment she continued, "And if I were to guess it wasn't only a onetime thing…?"

"You'd probably be right," I answered her honestly, deciding there was no use in lying to her now.

"And if I asked to come walking with you when you left tonight?"

She'd cornered me and she knew it. My sister was much too clever. "I'd have to say no." I looked up at her and grinned. "But you could go and find Adam."

"Oh, I am so sure you are going 'walking'," she laughed. Then we were inside the farmhouse before I could say anything else. I saw mom, dad and Abbey sitting at the same table from yesterday, already eating breakfast. They waved us over. I glanced up at Lou once more and she smiled brightly at me. I decided that I could trust her not to tell my secret. Of course Lou was imagining it to be something more than it actually was, but a promise for secrecy was the same no matter what it was for.

"Oh good, you girls are up," mom said brightly as Lou and I sat down across from them. She looked at me. "You slept through Abbey's reenactment of the bucking broncos from the rodeo like a log this morning, Amy." I froze but mom said it casually and with a light smile as she took a sip of her coffee.

I shrugged. "I guess I was just tired."

Mom nodded and I hurried away to get a doughnut for myself before anyone else could say something about my sleeping tendencies from the previous night. Lou followed behind me at a more relaxed pace and she snickered when she was next to me.

"Smooth, Amy, _real_ smooth. Keep that up and you won't need me to tell them anything. Just remember I've already caught you sneaking out _twice_."

I left Lou behind at the cereal station and slowly wandered through down the rest of the two buffet tables. I stared unseeingly at the food and held my doughnut limply by my side. I got to the trays holding the sausages, hams and other breakfast meats and stopped. I stared at them morosely for who knows how long. My mind was in the process of elaborate visions of little farm animals frolicking through fields being lassoed by devil men on giant fire breathing horses when a flood of sausages filled one of the trays. I jumped back in surprise and looked up, my daydream fading before my eyes.

It was really no surprise—or shouldn't have been one—when I saw Ty standing there, standing on the other side of the table with a now empty bowl. But the sight of him still made my heart beat faster in its caging. He grinned at me, laughing at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "That wasn't very nice."

He grinned rakishly. I realized I'd never really seen him grin like that before. He ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes. "I was just refilling the sausages," he said, holding up his bowl. "It's not any of my business if you were fantasizing about the meats."

"I didn't know you were the kitchen boy, too." I wanted to slap myself as I heard the next thing that came out of my mouth. And I had almost been doing so well at conversation with him! I mean, if you disregard the fact that it had started with me staring at the sausages…

Ty, for his part, only shrugged. I wondered if this was really _Ty _that I was talking to and not some bizarre evil twin… or _good twin_. "It's just one of my duties."

"You won't poison me, will you?" _Since when are you on joking terms, Amy?_

"Depends on the type of day I'm having," he said completely seriously. Oh yes, this was definitely Ty. But I guessed that he was in a good mood so far today. I found myself quite liking this Ty, and I think I may have actually smiled at him. He didn't exactly smile back but I figured we were making progress all the same.

"Amy!" I looked over my shoulder to see dad standing halfway out of the screen door and gesturing for me to hurry up.

I looked back up at Ty. "Ah, well. I guess I have to be going. I'll be seeing you later though, I guess."

"Yeah," Ty smirked. "Later. I've been looking forwards to it, Horse Whisperer." And then he was gone. Just like that he was walking away.

I scowled at his back as he walked away. Of course he was. Stupid, sadistic, good looking—

"So was that a romance I saw budding over the sausage patties?" Lou had sidled up beside me without my noticing it.

I started towards the door. "Shut up, Lou."

"Sorry," she tittered, obviously particularly enjoying herself. "They were sausage _links_. My fault."

I laughed darkly as I marched down the hill back towards the cabins. "You're wrong, Lou."

"I don't think so!" she sang brightly.

I ignored the rest of her taunting. Yes, Ty was fairly—or ridiculously—good looking. But he wasn't exactly the guy for me. And I wasn't looking for a relationship. Besides, he was clearly only interested in me as a substitute for cattle. Clearly there were no romantic intentions _there_. I don't even think you could safely call it friendship.

I trudged the rest of the way to the Jeep, the fight gone from my step. Lou managed to beat me there. As we pulled away from the ranch—the sign rustically proclaiming _New Hopes Ranch _above us—I wondered for the gazillionth time just what I had managed to get myself into. I turned in my seat and watch New Hopes Ranch fade in the distance behind us. Once I couldn't see it anymore, I turned back around in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest. I don't know what the ranch was giving me, but I would keep waiting for that _new hope _its sign promised visitors.

--

--

"This is ridiculous," I muttered, scuffing the toes of my sneakers in the dirt of the arena.

With the bright spotlights shining down into my eyes, and being forced to watch Ty sitting on the fence and fiddle—cool as a cucumber—with his lasso, I could imagine all too well how _real _cattle felt in similar arenas all around the west.

"What are you waiting for?" I eventually called out. He didn't answer, just kept turning that cursed rope around and around in his hands, probably attaching little pieces of barbed wire or electrodes. I had long since forgotten the relative normality that Ty had shown that morning. It was all a part of his game, I soon understood. So was this ignore-Amy-to-make-her-squirm thing he was doing now. He was playing it up and basking in at all. I, however, was ready to charge him, just like my cattle counterpart would surely have done by now.

Eventually he jumped from the fence rail with disturbing grace and made his way over to me in the center of the arena. He stopped directly in front of me, but continued to twirl the end of the lasso around. I folded my arms over my chest and waited. He didn't say anything though, just stared at me and kept spinning that lasso around.

"So…" I said.

"So."

I frowned. "Well can we just get this over with or what?"

"Usually the calf runs from the roper so… you could run, or something," he said easily.

No one was as good as confusing me as this man was. "Wait, what? Don't you need Blue?" He just stared at me and blinked. I sighed. "You know, a horse?"

"I was thinking we could start on the ground and work up to the horse," he surprised me by saying.

"Oh." I was sure my eyes must have been as wide as saucers.

Then that devilish look I knew so well came across his face as he lifted his head and looked up at me through his eyelashes. "Or we could just start with the horse…"

"N-no…" I stuttered, making myself concentrate on the situation at hand—which just happened to include my fate—and not how the light and the way his head was tilted threw his face into shadows that made him look even better… in a dark way that suited him almost too well. "No horse," I was almost too desperate. But somehow I did not delight in the experience of being lassoed and thrown to the grown by a man atop a horse.

"Very well then," he said. He lifted his head all the way and flicked his head to side to toss the hair from his eyes. His dark emerald eyes met with mine and I was powerless to look away. In that moment I could see so much in his eyes that I wouldn't have been able to break the gaze even if I had wanted to.

With our eyes still locked together, he lifted his arm and started swinging the lasso around over his head. I didn't even notice it leave his hand until I felt it fall over my head and past my shoulders. I jerked my eyes away from Ty's to find my body entrapped in his rope. I lifted my arms and took a step back just as Ty jerked the rope towards him. I gasped as the lasso tightened around my waist and I stumbled back forwards a step. I would have been met with a face full of sand but Ty's arm caught me around the waist. I stared at him as he righted me on my feet, too shocked by the quick line of events to do or say anything at all. He loosened the rope from around my waist and lifted it over my head.

"Next time," he said, appraising me calmly as if nothing at all had just happened, "I suggest you run."

--

--

An hour later I was wishing I had been a little more dedicated in the weight room at school. Or that I had joined the track team. Just _anything _that could have saved me from this last bout of utter mind wrenching humiliation.

I was on my back in the sand—as if that wasn't already bad enough—with the lasso around my waist, digging into the skin of my waist. Ty was kneeling by my side and had both my wrists gripped in one hand. I tried to twist them free but he was too strong.

"God," I moaned as he reached down to my legs and pulled one leg up by my ankle. I tilted my face into my shoulder to hide its raging blush. "This is ridiculous. Do you really have to do this?"

He jerked my other leg through the sand until it was also even with my stomach. "Yes," his voice was muffled as he pressed my wrists down into my ankles.

"This is probably illegal in some places," I said desperately as the end of the rope that was still tightly latched to my waist slithered under my ankles and started to wrap around my ankles and wrists.

"Not here it isn't," he just said. He kept winding the rope around. I whimpered as he tied it off with a tight knot. He sat back in the sand and balanced his elbows on his knees once he was done and just watched me lay there in the sand, completely tied up and unable to move.

I writhed around and tried to free myself but quickly gave up. He'd tied me up too tight. I settled on just glaring at him.

"Well that was fun," he finally said, running a hand through his hair.

"Fun," I snorted. "Untie me now please."

In typical Ty fashion though, all he did was stare at me. I don't know what I expected from him though, but I had just spent an hour running back and forth and being jerked about by that piece of rope he liked to swing about. Aside from the rub marks I was sure I had on my waist from where my sweatshirt had ridden up, it hadn't been as bad as I had feared. At least not until this last time when Ty apparently forgot that I was still a person and not an actual calf. He had pulled me to the ground and roped my legs and arms together.

"Hog tied," his soft voice broke the silence.

Now all I could do was blink. It was as though he was reading my thoughts. "Excuse me?"

"Never thought you'd end up hog tied, did you?" he asked me wickedly. His eyes glittered under the spotlights and he dropped his legs to sit with them crossed Indian style.

"Not everyone has a mind as twisted as yours."

"Not everyone is as gifted either," he countered with.

I groaned and dropped my head back onto the sand. My body was twisted at an awkward angle with my head and my shoulders mostly straight but my back and legs twisted to the right. It was beginning to become uncomfortable and my neck and shoulders were feeling the brunt of the pain from it.

"Really though, untie me? Please?"

"I quite like you in this position though," he mused and my heart raced.

"The calves are only kept tied up for like two seconds in actual rodeos," I said logically, staring up at the cloudless, starry sky and not at him staring at me. "And if you don't let me out I won't be able to help you tomorrow night," I blurted out before I could think.

"You'd do this again?" he clearly didn't believe me. Maybe he'd tied me up just for this reason…

"Yes." _No… yes… oh, I don't know anymore! _"Just untie me."

He watched me contemplatively for another moment before kneeling next to me again. His hands made quick work of the knots around my hands and feet and as soon as I kicked the loose end away from me I shimmied out of rest of the lasso. I grabbed it in my hand and threw it in Ty's direction, he caught it easily.

I pulled myself into a sitting position and mirrored his crossed legs. I let my hair out from its ponytail and the shook it and ran my hands threw it, getting as much sand out as I could. Once I was done I leaned back and braced my weight on my arms. I sighed and looked back up at the sky.

We were silent for a long time but the endless night sky had me mesmerized. "What are you thinking about?" his voice was so quiet that I almost didn't catch it. And even though I did hear it, I wasn't sure it was actually him that I heard speak.

I jerked my head forward to look at him, to see if I should expect a biting comment. He seemed sincere enough though, and was just watching me with a sort of expression on his face that I couldn't name. I had never seen it there before. I tilted my head back again. "Just the sky," I decided to answer him honestly. "It's so pretty out here. So endless. I feel like I could look at it for ever and—wait!" I looked back at him just in time to see him get to his feet and walk away. "Where are you going?"

He didn't answer, not that I was surprised. I was too shocked to move. And I was also curious about what he was going to do. If he was leaving me here… well, I'd come up with something. I watched him walk across the arena towards one end and then all the lights went out and I was sitting in complete and total darkness.

Sitting there on the ground in the dead of the night, in the middle of the Colorado mountains, I felt very small. I could see the looming outlines of the mountains and the shadowy shapes of the spotlights and fence but nothing else. My hearing was heightened and I was absorbed in listening to the new sounds of the night: the rustle of the wind, the animals in the bushes, the bugs, the rocks falling against each other.

What I didn't notice however was Ty coming back over to me and when his shadow crossed over me and I looked up slowly to see a large figure looking down on me it gave me such a fright that I let out a little startled shriek and tumbled backwards. Ty laughed, as he would I suppose, and sat down across from me again.

Lying on my back, I noticed the sky again, and this time I couldn't help but gasp. In the dark it was so much better! It really was endless. There was the moon over there and all the stars twinkling. It gave the land some light in the dark.

"Sometimes I wish I had paid more attention to the constellations in school," I said wistfully as I stared up at the stars. I would have loved to be able to pick out the Big Dipper and Pegasus…

"Yes," Ty agreed with me. "That would be one useful thing, wouldn't it?" his voice was still soft.

"The sky here is so big. I'm not used to seeing so much sky," I laughed a little. "I live in Virginia and there are just so many trees, you can never see this much of the sky or this many stars."

"It's something you can't leave behind once you have it," Ty said. "It was my favorite part of Colorado when I first came here."

"Where did you move from?" I chanced my luck by asking.

He was silent for a moment before answering. "Philadelphia."

"Oh. Not much sky there," I joked.

"No," he said, but his voice was bitter. "Not much sky at all."

"Do you think you would ever go back there?" I asked tentatively after a minute.

"No," he said. "There's nothing for me there. And once you have the freedom of the west you can't give it back. Don't know why anyone would want to either."

We lapsed into silence again but it was comfortable, not strained or awkward. I smiled, pleased at our first substantial conversation with no arguing or critical words in sight. I threaded my fingers together behind my head and lay back in the sand to look up at the stars a little easier. After a moment I decided to stretch my legs out too. I sighed as my muscles relaxed themselves but froze as my foot bumped against something.

It was Ty, I just knew it was. _Well of course it is, Amy!! What else would it be? _I stayed absolutely still for several breath taking moments. My heart was pounding in my ears. I don't know what I was expecting him to do. Stomp on my foot, tease me, worse? But he didn't do any of the things my imagination conjured up. In fact, what he did do made me wonder if I was hallucinating. Maybe he'd pulled the lasso a little too tight one too many times…

He moved his leg so that my foot wasn't just touching the toe of his shoe, it was leaning against his ankle. My thoughts and my heart were in a complete frenzy at this completely unexpected action on his part.

I didn't want to say anything to break the spell, so our silence remained. I smiled up at the stars. This western vacation wasn't turning out be half bad. If this all resulted in some sort of bizarre friendship—or an understanding at the very least—with Ty, and I managed to avoid ending up hog tied again, I might even end up liking it.

**a/n:** a chapter finished!! :jumps for joy: I thought it was pretty good too. REVIEW!! (and remember to check out that new story I recommended…) –Steph


	11. Just Friends

**Authors Note**

Sorry for the wait… again. The end of the summer was surprisingly busy… and then there was school. But I have a week off for Thanksgiving so expect several updates soon! And I'll try to make them nice long chapters too.

And this chapter was going to be from Ty's POV but I decided to fit it in for next chapter (I THINK). I like writing him but keeping him a mystery is just so much fun too! But a Ty POV is coming up soon. You're warned.

Enjoy this chapter and keep the reviews coming!!

Steph

**Disclaimer: **yupppp :)

--

**RODEO STONER**

**Chapter 10: Just Friends**

AMYPOV

_Saturday_

There were few things in the world that I hated more than a trail ride. I mean, come _on_. I was a bit more then proficient on horseback. So _why_ would anyone feel the need to stick me on some broken down horse that wouldn't even flinch if a bomb went off next to it? And for two hours no less?

Well, the answer to the 'who' would be my mom and dad. And the answer to the _why _would be because it "is a great experience to see some of the beauty of the southwest." Well of course _that _was it.

So as soon as I was awake—a routine I hated more and more everyday—dad informed me that right after breakfast he, Lou and I were going to be going off on a trail riding adventure. Apparently we couldn't let such a gorgeous day go to waste.

"This is ridiculous," I grumbled, throwing the blankets over my head.

I could hear Lou as she dug through her suitcase on the floor.

"Let's go girls!" Dad called from the main room. "Meet us up at breakfast!" His exit was signaled by the slamming of the door.

I moaned and threw the blankets off of my head. I stared up at ceiling, only aware of Lou moving around the room.

"Come on, Amy, just get ready," Lou said as she headed into the bathroom with an armful of clothes.

I sat up slowly. "Lou, you know I don't do trail rides."

Lou rolled her eyes but laughed at my dramatics. "Yes, Amy, I _know_. But daddy wants to do it and it's really pretty out here so it might not be that bad."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're just happy because _Adam _will be there."

Lou laughed again. "Get dressed," she said and then she was gone into the bathroom.

I stared at the wall for another minute before letting out a loud groan and throwing the covers to the foot of the bed. I slumped in front of my open suitcase and just stared at the clothes inside until Lou came out of the bathroom.

"Oh lighten up, Amy," she said as she sat down to lace up her sneakers. "It won't be that bad."

I folded a pair of jeans next to me on the floor. "Uh huh."

"You might have fun too," Lou said, her voice full on implications.

I shot her a look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She stood up and pulled down her shirt. She grinned at me. "You went out walking again last night."

"Yeah…" I said slowly, not seeing—or liking—where she was going.

"Yeah, so I'm just saying," she said before walking out of the room. "Meet me outside when you're dressed. I'll wait for you to go up."

As was becoming my usual routine, I rushed through dressing. It was amazing I managed to look like a real person anymore. I was just glad that I was able to pick out a matching outfit and get my shoes on the right feet. I quickly shoved my legs into a pair of nicely faded jeans and put a dark gray t-shirt on over the sports bra I had worn the night before. I quickly tied up my black converse and ran a brush through my hair. I glanced in the mirror quickly and for the first time in my life I was glad that my hair didn't require any great amount of attention to get it to lie flat.

I stared at my reflection critically. I was too plain, too straight edge. It really was no great wonder that Ty wasn't…

_Wait… what? Did I just… whoa._

I shook my head. Of _course_ Ty wasn't interested in me like _that_. He was gorgeous for one thing, and just so… so not _me_. He was basically my opposite in every way, shape and form. But all of this was completely irrelevant. I wasn't even interested in Ty! He was just… adding excitement to an otherwise tedious vacation. And I was _sure _that he felt the same thing about me. All I was to him was entertainment. After all, what other self respecting girl would allow a guy to tie her up? But then, of course, why did he…

My stomach flipped. My hand flew to my stomach at the sensation and, through the mirror, I watched my eyes widen.

It was completely implausible. All I had done was think about…

_You thought about how he touched your foot._

My heart hammered in my chest.

But of course that didn't mean anything… because I barely even _liked _the guy so… it must just be a stomach bug, I thought. Maybe I could get out of the trail ride now.

I spun away from the mirror before I could think anymore and flew out of the cabin like a bat out of hell. I nearly collided with Lou when I made it to the porch. She had her back turned to me, and was talking to a young couple that was seated on rocking chairs outside of the cabin next to ours. As it was, I managed to mostly avoid Lou, though I did clip her with my hip and sent her flying into the railing. I went flying down the three stairs that led to the gravel driveway.

All was silent for a moment.

I lay on my back and stared up at the clear blue sky. I groaned at the rocks that dug into my back but couldn't bring myself to move, much less get up.

"And _that _would be my sister Amy," Lou said. I assumed she was addressing the couple she had previously been talking with.

There was silence again. "Is she alright?" a worried female voice finally said.

Lou snorted. "She's fine," she said offhandedly. "She just likes to be dramatic."

"Shut up, Lou," I groaned, still not moving.

Lou laughed. "Well I'll talk to you guys again later; I need to go get my sister up to breakfast. It was nice meeting you!"

"You too," the man said.

I heard Lou jumping down the stairs, and then she was standing over me with her hands on her hips and her lips pressed tightly together to suppress her smile.

"Having fun?"

"Shut _up_," I groaned and closed my eyes.

Lou tittered above me. "Well maybe if you actually got some sleep at night you wouldn't have to rush in the mornings."

"Just go away, Lou."

"I wonder what it is that could possibly have you so on edge this morning," Lou mused. I groaned again.

"As you said, I'm just tired."

"And you thought that the driveway would be a good place to take a nap?" she laughed.

"Just go away," I tried again to get her to leave me in peace.

Of course she wouldn't though. "As comfortable as I'm sure the driveway is, we have to get to breakfast."

"I'll stay here, thanks."

Lou sighed. "Fine, if you really want. At least move your legs or something so I know your back isn't broken or anything." I picked up my leg and kicked out in the direction I thought she was in. I felt my muscles protest at the movement and let my leg drop back to the ground. Of course I missed Lou. My fall down the stairs combined with the activities of the previous night was just too much.

"Well alright then," Lou said. She stood over me for another moment before she walked off, laughing the whole time. I sighed deeply once her footsteps and laughter had disappeared.

I let the warm sun relax my muscles and crossed my hands over my stomach. With the sun on my body, this was easily the most relaxed I'd felt all morning. Disregarding the gravel pressed into my back of course, but that was easy enough to block out.

I felt like I was well on my way to drifting off when a loud "Ahem" sounded over me as someone cleared their throat.

I opened one eye and was immediately met with the piercing emerald eyes of the man that had practically caused my flight down the stairs. I stared for a moment before his lips parted in a grin. I groaned and closed my eyes again.

It was quiet for a minute and I fought the urge to open my eyes to check if he was still there. I was still debating it when the toe of his sneaker nudged me in the shoulder.

I opened my eyes fully this time and attempted to glare up at him, though I'm not sure of the overall affect. "Is something the matter?"

Ty's emerald eyes glinted in the sunlight. "I feel like it would be more appropriate to be asking you the same thing."

"I'm fine… obviously."

"Yes that's what I thought too when I saw you just lying in the driveway," he smirked down at me. "You know, this view of you is starting to look familiar."

I opened my mouth to retort but nothing came out. I probably looked like a fish out of water the way I was lying there and staring up at him. I couldn't bring myself to stop staring though. I knew I should, but I couldn't. I tried to stop, but I just couldn't take my eyes off him. If I had said he was gorgeous… well that was clearly an understatement. Especially from where I was looking. The sun sent a light glow over his dark hair and the angles of his face were brightly defined. His legs, clad in dark and well fitting jeans, were spread slightly apart and, looking up at him, his shoulders looked even wider. His black t-shirt was stretched across his chest. As large as his chest was, his waist was slim and his jeans hung low on his hips. I was probably drooling, but I just couldn't—

The spell was broken as he dropped down to sit cross-legged on the ground next to me.

"Can I help you with something?" I managed to somehow get the words out.

He rested his chin in his palm and just stared at me. "Again, I feel like I should be asking _you_ that."

"Can you just leave me alone please?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well I saw you just lying here and I wanted to see if you were still alive." He grinned and I rolled my eyes.

"Well I'm alive… thanks for checking."

"Great. Now my Good Samaritan deed of the day is done."

If I had expected him to leave, then I was surprised. But I wasn't surprised. Nothing this man did could surprise me anymore. However, despite this, I was still slightly surprised when instead of leaving he lay down next to me in the gravel and dirt. I tilted my head to the side and stared at him as he folded his arms behind his head.

He turned his head to look at me. "You know," he said, "this is really quite uncomfortable."

"It's not so bad once you get used to it," I surprised myself by saying.

He didn't comment on it again. Instead, we both just lay there, enough room between our bodies so that we weren't touching in any way at while. I would be a terrible liar if I said that having Ty lying next to me didn't make my heart beat faster, or my body temperature to rise. He was of course, just plainly gorgeous. Any gorgeous guy would have had this affect on me… not that I was very experienced in the matter, however.

He finally broke the silence. "So… can I ask you what you're doing lying in the driveway?"

"I fell," I said simply.

Ty laughed, his back lifting slightly off the ground as his shoulders shook. "You do that a lot, you know."

"I know," I sighed.

I expected him to tease me about this fact, but again I was surprised. We just lapsed back into comfortable silence. I was starting to worry that I had actually fallen asleep. The conversation I was having with Ty was altogether out of character… or it would have been before last night. Did something change in the arena last night? It hardly seemed plausible that the way to melt some of this man's icy exterior was by letting him treat you like cattle. But, then again, I wasn't exactly an expert of men. Though I was fairly certain that everything about this relationship was entirely unorthodox. Not that there was much of a relationship here anyway…

I'm not sure how much time had passed, but the sound of car tires crunching over the gravel somewhere nearby broke through my reverie. I glanced over at Ty and his eyes were closed, his face titled up into the sun. I wondered if he was sleeping… and if he was, whether I was brave enough to wake him or if I would be safer just leaving him there.

I forced myself rather ungracefully into a sitting position. My back protested against the movement and I stretched my arms forward to touch my toes to try and ease the knots in my muscles. I gave a groan of frustration before letting myself flop back down to the ground. I was already falling when I realized that falling back onto the sharp gravel would surely not help my sore body. I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared myself for the impact… the sharp, jarring impact that I expected never came though.

Somehow my body must have shifted its angle when I was sitting, because what I fell on was most certainly _not_ the gravel driveway. Well, not unless the driveway had become significantly more solid and comfortable and let out a great "Oof" of air as my body crashed into it.

Everything was quiet for a moment. My mind was racing as fast as my heart was hammering and my face heated up into flames.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no! Please tell me that I didn't just—_

"Well that was a new one… even for you," Ty's deep voice said from under me.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed in mortification as I turned around to face him.

_Oh please, please, please…_ I thought desperately. But no. It was definitely Ty that I had landed on… and was _still _lying on.

"I am _so _sorry," I said in a rush as I attempted to push myself off of him. I managed to rise to my knees, my hands bracing themselves on Ty's shoulders, when I felt myself tipping forwards again. Ty's hands grabbed my hips and stopped me from falling completely on him again.

With his hands still on my waist, and my own hands still on his shoulders, I stared at him for a long moment. And he stared right back. I couldn't, not with everything I had in me, tear my eyes away from his. The green was hypnotic as it held me frozen in place.

Finally, a door slammed on one of the cabins and the spell was broken. I let out a heavy breath of air as I flicked my eyes down the line of cabins. There was a family slowly making their way out of them.

Ty's hands shifted on my waist and, with a start, I realized that I was _still_ on top of Ty.

_Oh god. _

Beyond embarrassed, I rolled off of Ty. His hands slipped away from my waist as I hit the ground. I rolled over again onto my stomach to put some distance between us. I brought my arms up and under my head and hid my face in them.

"I am so sorry," I said again, my voice muffled in my arms.

I don't know what I expected from him—a harsh word, a kick in the leg… a rock thrown at the head? I don't know. But whatever it was, it certainly wasn't what I got.

"I don't think I've ever seen you move quite that fast," he finally said, his voice casual.

Well that was… I don't know exactly what _that _was. Was it supposed to be mocking? It didn't really _sound_ mocking… but with Ty you never really knew.

"Sorry… I'm such a klutz."

He laughed. "You could say that again." This man surprised me more and more with everything he said today. I thought I'd lost the ability to be surprised by anything he said or did… obviously I was wrong.

"I think I'm going to go now…" I mumbled as I pushed myself to my knees. I kept my gaze firmly away from Ty, who was still just lying there on his back. "We're going on a trail ride and all."

"Oh yeah, the Fleming Family Trail Ride," he said.

I looked over at him. He was now sitting up as well.

"I'm going to be one of your enthusiastically peppy guides," he said, his voice completely serious.

I stared at him as I remembered the last time I had seen him go out on the trails. He had certainly seemed less than enthused about it. "Should I be worried?"

He barked out a short laugh before looking at me thoughtfully. "I'm sure you'll be alright… I need to keep you around for a little longer I think. Who else would let me practice roping on them?" he grinned wickedly at me.

"Of course," I rolled my eyes before getting to my feet. I brushed off the dust from the gravel that was no doubt staining my back.

Ty stood up next to me and together we started to walk down the driveway towards the barn and corrals. As we neared, I could see four horses tethered to the outside of the corral and Adam tacking them up. I groaned.

"No offense or anything," I said to Ty as we got ever closer to Adam, "but I hate trail rides."

"Where is the offense in that?"

"Well… I just…" I didn't really have an answer. I knew he didn't enjoy the trail rides either but…

"I hate them too," he said simply.

"Oh, right."

"I may have a way to get out of it… if you're interested of course."

"Tell me," I said eagerly.

We had reached Adam by now. Ty kept walking, not stopping to help Adam with the three other horses that still needed tack. I avoided looking at Adam and followed Ty towards the small corral that held Blue and Red.

Ty leaned his back against the corral and stared at me. Red and Blue came up behind each of his shoulders and looked at me as well. It was unnerving, having three sets of eyes focused on me. I scuffed my feet through the dirt and waited for him to say something. I peeked back up at him just as Red nipped his shoulder. Ty looked up at his horse, ruffled his forelock, and the connection was broken.

"So… what's this big plan?" I asked eventually.

Ty glanced back at me and shrugged. "It's quite simple really. You say you're feeling a little sick and we ditch the ride."

I was confused. "All right… but how does saying that _I'm _sick get _you _out of the ride as well?"

Ty folded his arms across his chest. I tired not stare at the way his biceps flexed and stretched his thin t-shirt. "You'll have to go on the trails for a bit. And since I'm a guide, I'll offer to make sure you get safely back to the ranch."

I grinned. "That's genius."

Ty shrugged again, a smirk crossing over his lips. "I've been known to have my moments. And when we ditch the trail ride, we can go back down to the arena for some more training."

I paled. I didn't quite think I was up for that… yet.

Ty laughed at the expression I'm sure crossed over my face. "Maybe not then," he snickered. "I'll show you a good trail ride," he said.

I groaned. "Why escape one trail ride just to go on another?"

Ty pursed his lips. "I know where to go… and you won't be confined to a walk the entire time."

I nodded. Well that at least sounded promising. I glanced over at the horses Adam was tacking up. There was one of the big, bay drafts, a chestnut, a black and one with a tan coat that looked suspiciously like a mule. I frowned. Could any of those horses actually stand a chance at keeping up Red or Blue? Of course they couldn't.

I looked back at Ty. "And which of those horses—" I gestured towards Adam— "can actually go faster than a walk? The mule?"

Ty laughed as he surveyed the horses. Then he looked back at me. He looked as though he were debating something internally. I kicked up a cloud of dust and waited for him to stop staring at me so intensely.

"You can ride Blue," he finally said.

My eyes jerked back up to his face then over to Blue. The beautiful horse was resting his chin on Ty's shoulder. My eyes darted back to Ty. "Okay…" I said slowly. I distinctly remember Ty, as well as Adam, assuring me that _no one_ rode Red or Blue besides their owner. Though I had already ridden Blue so perhaps I had passed some sort of test.

I was broken from my thoughts when I heard Ty laughing. My eyes snapped away from the ground and to his face. He just shook his head and walked away towards the barn, his shoulders still shaking slightly. I stared after him. Had I… done something wrong? I didn't think I had…

_Oh god_. I was suddenly terrified. _Was I thinking out loud again? Oh god, Amy, what did you _say_?_

I was still panicking internally when Ty looked over his shoulder at me and called, "If you want to ride with a saddle I suggest you follow me." Then he disappeared into the barn.

I scurried after him and had almost made it to the barn when Adam stopped me.

"Hey, Amy, I've got Chester all saddled up for you if you want to get on now and try him out."

I froze and slowly turned around. Adam was standing by the neck of the mule.

_Oh crap. Chester. _

Adam smiled at me and reached up to stroke one of the mule's—Chester's?—ears. I cringed. He had to have heard Ty telling me to come and get tack… so why would he…? Probably because he hated Ty. It was like battle of the cowboys around here… except only one cowboy was in the battle, and he was getting soundly beaten by the rebel. Go figure.

Still though, I didn't know exactly what to say to Adam. I settled with the classic "thanks but no thanks"… or I tried to anyway, I don't think it came out just right. "Thank you?" was as far as I got out. I rubbed the back of my neck as I heard it come out as a question.

Adam just grinned at me. "No problem," he said. He pulled the reins over the mule's head. "Do you need a leg up?"

"Um… actually, Adam…" I started, taking a step back from the approaching Adam and… Chester.

"She doesn't need your mule," Ty said as he swept back out of the barn with his arms full of tack. "Here, take this," he said to me as he dumped the tack into my arms with no warning. I was lucky I caught it all, though I did stagger back a few more steps under the weight. How could a horse hold this thing? My English saddle back home suddenly seemed a lot more humane.

Adam's face turned a little red as he stared down Ty. "I just tacked up all the horses for the ride— thanks for helping by the way. And since I did all the work, I get to chose who rides which horse." I almost laughed at his ridiculousness but instead just straightened the tack in my arms.

Ty, to his credit I suppose, didn't burst out laughing either… he just snickered. I wasn't sure if that was better or worse than just laughing full out at poor Adam.

"She's riding Blue," he said simply before he disappeared back into the barn.

"I… what?" Adam looked at me and glared. I shrugged my shoulders as best I could under the weight of the saddle. "I tacked up all the horses!" he exclaimed in apparent outrage.

"She's still riding Blue," Ty said as he exited the barn, a load of tack now in his arms.

Adam's face was getting redder and redder. I couldn't believe the poor guy was getting so worked up over this. "I've never even seen anyone ride that horse. How do I know he's trail safe?"

Ty looked over his shoulder at me. His emerald eyes were glinting with laughter. "Do _you _trust Blue?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Well there ya go."

"I still don't think it's wise to put a guest on a horse that hasn't even been on the trails. Chester here is sturdy and surefooted and can handle the trails." I half expected Adam to stomp his foot as he whined like a child.

"I assure you that my horse can _handle _the trails… as difficult as that may be," Ty assured Adam, though his voice was patronizing and very far from reassuring.

"Rick wouldn't allow this!"

Ty only laughed and started walking back towards Blue and Red's corral. I followed behind him and set my tack on the ground besides his once he had dropped his. Ty opened the corral and stepped inside. I hung back at the gate, unsure of what to do. He clipped a lead rope to Blue's halter and handed it silently to me. Blue followed quietly behind me as I led him out and looped the lead rope over the corral post. Ty tied Red up next to me.

"And I tacked up all the horses already!" Adam continued to huff. I could hear his heavy footfalls—complete with the jingling of his spurs—getting closer to us.

"So I've heard," Ty said harshly as he swung the saddle up on Red's back. I mimicked him and placed—well, more like heaved I suppose—Blue's saddle up on top of his black saddle pad. I huffed with the effort of lifting such a large weight but finally managed to get it up.

"If you had bothered to ask me about the horses we needed for the ride, I would've told you only to tack up three," Ty continued, his voice muffled as reached under Red for the cinch. "So therefore, the extra work was entirely your fault," Ty reasoned. I shook my head and bit my lip as I fastened the cinch on Blue's saddle… or tried to. There were numerous straps hanging down from the saddle and I had no idea which attached to what part of the saddle. I tried for a minute but, in fear of totally destroying Ty's saddle, quickly gave up.

"Ummm… a little help here please?" I stood on tiptoe to look over Blue's back at the two boys still staring each other down.

Adam practically ran towards me. I watched with raised eyebrows as Ty walked towards me as well.

"Do not touch my horse," he said in an absolute lethal voice as Adam reached out a hand to touch Blue's rump. Adam pulled his hand away quickly and faced Ty once more.

"Look," Ty said, "just make it easy on yourself and un-tack one of the damn horses."

Adam looked over at me, his arms crossed over his very plaid chest. "You _want _to ride that horse?" he asked me again.

I couldn't resist the dramatic eye roll. "Yup," I said simply. "Anyway, Lou is more partial towards mules than I am." I smiled at him.

Adam pulled his cowboy hat down lower over his eyes and stomped back to his horses. To my surprise, he went about un-tacking the draft. I grinned, Lou would just _love_ Chester.

I was still watching Adam—and wondering how it was even possible for him to get that saddle down from the drafts back—when Ty shoved me lightly to the side. The cinch slid from my hands in surprise as I regained my balance. Ty quickly did up the cinch, making it look entirely too easy.

"There," he said, patting Blue's side. Blue swung his head around and nipped at Ty's shoulder. Ty lightly batted the horse on his noise and Blue swung his head up in the air, his mane flopping in the air before settling neatly back on his neck. Ty leaned against Blue's shoulder, crossed his arms over his chest and faced me. "Are you _sure _you feel safe with Blue?" he asked, the corners of his lips twitching.

I rolled my eyes. "Pretty sure, thanks though."

Ty laughed. "Adam is such a fuck," he said. I nodded my head, unable to help but to agree with him. "I have no idea how I haven't just killed him yet," he grumbled as he fastened up Blue's bridle. He unclipped the rope and handed Blue's reins to me.

"I have no idea what time we're leaving but you might as well just get on now," he said as he walked back to Red to put on his bridle.

I rubbed my hand over the white star on Blue's forehead. I laughed softly as Blue pushed his head into my hand. I ran my fingers through his forelock and smiled. How could Adam even have asked me if I wanted to ride the mule over this incredible horse?

I slipped the stirrups down and easily swung myself up into the saddle. I had just gotten the stirrups fixed for my much shorter legs when Ty said, "Here take Red, I've got to get something." I looked up just in time to lunge for the reins that were flying towards me. I managed to catch them as Ty walked off.

"Yeah sure, of course," I muttered as he disappeared around the back of the barn. I _felt _like we were making progress and gaining on that distant land called 'friendship', but I just wasn't sure. I wanted to be friends with him, I now knew. But I also wanted—

_Oh dear god, Amy. Don't go there again! You just want to be his friend. Just friends. That's all._

I laughed softly at my ridiculousness and shook my head to clear my thoughts. I pressed my heels down in the stirrups and looked up at the clear blue sky. Red pressed his muzzle against my leg and I reached down to pat his head. I ran my hand over one of his perked ears and smiled as he rested his great, two-toned head on Blue's withers.

"Amy!"

I looked up to see Lou marching down the driveway that led up to the farmhouse. I lifted a hand in greeting.

"Mom's pissed you didn't come up for breakfast," she huffed as she neared me. "I told her you were—wait. What the hell are doing?"

I blinked blankly in confusion. "What?"

"That horse," she said, pointing at Blue. "What are you doing on that horse?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled brightly down at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Getting ready to go on a trail ride, of course. I think Adam has a mule waiting for you."

Lou stared up at me with accusing blue eyes. "How did you manage to get on that horse? I thought—"

"Thanks for holding Red for me," Ty interrupted Lou as he appeared back by Red's side. He vaulted easily into the saddle and quickly pulled on a black, gray and white plaid, long-sleeved, hooded button up. He buttoned about half the buttons before reaching out for Red's reins. I reached over Red's head and placed the end in Ty's hand. "Great," he said. He saw Lou standing by Blue's neck and nodded at her before turning Red away from us and walking slowly down the driveway.

"Oh my god," Lou hissed at up at me. "What the hell was _that_?"

"Nothing, Lou. Gosh. Don't go all dramatic on me please."

She narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Tell me how you got him to let you ride his horse!"

I sighed. "He just let me, okay?"

"What did you have to do?" she asked suggestively.

"Jeez, Lou," I hissed, my cheeks flushing slightly. "I didn't _do _anything. I'm just waiting to go on a trail ride."

Lou eyed me critically for another moment. "Fine, but you _will _tell me about this later."

"Yeah sure. Whatever, Lou. Just go get your horse or something."

She walked off towards Adam then, calling out an enthusiastic greeting as he waved at her. I smirked. In ways, Adam was just too perfect for my sister.

With a sigh, I picked up Blue's reins and nudged him into an easy walk. I walked him up the driveway towards the bottom of the hill that led up to the farmhouse before turning back and walking the other direction, towards the cabins. I easily settled into Blue's easy, smooth walk, letting the gentle rocking relax me.

"Don't fall asleep on my horse."

I jerked my head up to see Ty riding towards me.

"Nice shirt," I fired back. I regretted the words as soon as I said them, but it was the first thing I had thought of.

"Thanks, I'm quite partial to plaid as well."

I rolled my eyes. The shirt looked quite nice on him, emphasizing his chest and shoulders even more. In fact, it was almost drool worthy. I don't think I'd ever seen a plaid shirt look so good on anyone… but of course I wasn't about to say _any_ of this Ty. Ever.

"Why are you wearing it then?" I asked instead as I halted Blue in front of Ty and Red.

"It's part of the trail guides uniform," Ty said grudgingly. I snorted. He glared at me. "I'm serious. It was one of Kara's brilliant ideas. Apparently it gives a better western atmosphere to the ride… makes us look authentic, or some other bull. A hat is part of it too."

My stomach flopped. Ty in that shirt and a Stetson… now _that _was a drool worthy image.

"Where's your hat then?" I asked, fiddling with Blue's dark mane.

Ty pulled the hood on his plaid shirt over his head. His dark eyes glared out from under the bottom of it.

"I _told _you she wouldn't be too difficult about going for a ride," my dad's voice drifted up behind me.

"I'm surprised," my mom said. I turned around in my saddle to see mom, dad and Abbey approaching. "I was beginning to think you were sick when you missed breakfast, Amy," she said to me, disapproval clearly lacing her voice. My mom was very big on breakfast.

I shrugged. "Sorry, mom, I was just so excited about going on this trail ride." I winced at the blatant lie I had just told to the one person who would clearly know I was lying.

"Oh I'm sure," mom said, picking Abbey up into her arms.

"We're going swimming," Abbey informed me happily.

I smiled at my little sister. "Sounds like fun. I'll join you later, okay?"

Abbey nodded. "Pretty horsey," she said, reaching out a hand towards Blue.

"Yes, he's very pretty, honey," mom said to her. Ty and Red walked passed me back down the driveway and I turned Blue around to face my mother.

"Well have fun on the ride," mom said to me, raising an eye brow at me. "Drink lots of water."

Once they had gone back to the cabins I pushed Blue forwards to follow after Red and Ty. I stopped next to them in the patch of shade they were under.

"So when should I say I'm feeling sick?" I asked.

"I'll give you a sign," Ty said rather cryptically as he turned Red's reins around in his hands. "I ride last; you should ride just in front of me."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

The silence fell between us again.

Ty stared off over the corrals and the barn. And I couldn't help but stare at him. For a second I thought about how unfair it was that a girl like me would never have a guy as beautiful as him. I mentally ran through the faces of every guy in my school back in Virginia. None of them even came close to Ty. But at least I had half a shot with those guys. Ty was just so… unattainable. I didn't even _want _him to be attainable. Not for me at least. And I wasn't even his kind of girl. Besides, a relationship with Ty seemed like a lot of work to me, and I wasn't even—

Ty turned towards me and I was instantly caught up in his hypnotizing emerald gaze once more.

My heart stuttered and I felt completely ridiculous just _staring _at him like this but I couldn't stop. And besides, he was staring right back at me… wasn't he? That had to mean something…

_God dammit, Amy! What are you _doing_? Look away… look away! _

But I couldn't.

**a/n: **phew. Finished. Long enough for you? The trail ride will be next—it'll be fun! It was supposed to be this chapter but I got a little carried away and I'll never be finished writing this chapter if I keep going. I'll get it up soon though. Hope you enjoyed and please review!! -Steph


End file.
